On the twenty-sixth of this month, ISIS reared its head in Egypt, specifically from the stand of the Ismailia Misdemeanor Court, one of Egypt's governorates, where Egyptian blogger and atheist YouTuber Sherif Jaber was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of publishing video clips that are offensive to Islam and promote atheism. According to the ruling issued by the court in the northeastern part of the country, the videos published by Sharif include insulting God and mocking Islam, which are criminalized by Egyptian law under Articles 98, 160, and 161 of the Penal Code.
The reasons for sentencing the young blogger are strikingly similar to those used by ISIS, executing people through "Sharia trials." The only difference lies in the type of punishment: in Egypt, which is ruled by an authoritarian military regime, it is "aggravated imprisonment," while in the regions controlled by ISIS, is "death". But events in Egypt are rapidly accelerating towards the full implementation of ISIS's methodology in the near future, as it appears on the horizon. The official religious institution (Al-Azhar), the religious arm of the military regime, often interferes in people's lives in a way reminiscent of medieval clerics in many countries.
We can imagine the reality that a 31-year-old man now faces as he exercises his right guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and this right includes freedom of expression." And to hold opinions without any To interfere, to seek, receive and impart information and ideas by any means and regardless of frontiers."
This confirms that the articles on which the court relied in its ruling - the Penal Code - completely contradict the text of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration, and thus conflict with the rights and freedoms guaranteed by international agreements.
For a decade, Sherif Jaber has been living a disastrous life, moving from one place to another and from one governorate to another in disguise, unable to reveal his face due to a previous four-year prison sentence. Instead of that nightmare ending, the situation worsened with the new rule, bringing the total to nine years, all because of his opinion, because he is an atheist who lives in a country whose ruling regime decided to monopolize everything "even virtue."
The lawyer who filed the lawsuit against Gaber said in a press interview following the issuance of the ruling, "The ruling supports the basic values of Egyptian society." He added, "Jaber openly insults Islam and insults God Almighty, and deliberately insults religion under the guise of freedom of opinion and expression, which the court confirmed in its ruling."
The question remains: How can individuals give themselves the right to determine the basic values of society? So how can they speak in the name of God as if they were His agents on earth, with His permission? Is the God they believe in so weak and fragile that they fear the words of a citizen in a country of 110 million people?
As a reminder, the Egyptian state ranks at the bottom of global indicators for democracy, justice, rule of law, and right to expression. There are approximately 65,000 prisoners of conscience in its prisons and detention centers. Can you imagine!? Its political system is considered one of the worst in the world. What the young blogger is currently experiencing has been suffered by many others since the 1952 coup, and it has increased at a high rate over the years (thinkers/writers/journalists/novelists/artists/creatives), some of whom paid the price with their lives for the honor of the word and the responsibility of the free intellectual who wants to change extreme conditions. The bad.
The list is long, and if it were to mention the names, it would require several articles, not just one article.
Among the last things that Sherif Jaber wrote through his account on the X website, formerly known as Twitter, were two tweets. The first said: "Urgent: Today I was sentenced to another 5 years in prison, bringing my total sentence to 9 years, for criticizing Islam. If you know of any way to help, do not hesitate to contact me. I need urgent help."
The second was: "I regret making the videos. It wasn't worth it. For the first time in my life, I feel like the end is near. I feel like there's nothing in the world worth fighting for. I'm alone, lost, depressed, and the pain is greater." "I'm too weak to fight." This explains his psychological state very clearly.
I hope that all relevant organizations in the free world will move before it is too late to save a young man from the clutches of military tyranny supported by a religious establishment with an ISIS flavor.
