Current information on whether the offense of "insulting Islam" appears in the legislation [EGY25580.E]

Information on the above-mentioned topic could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

However, the following information may be of general interest.

Egypt's principle of hisba is "the legal principal which allows activists... to raise suits against whatever they deem offensive to Islam, even if they are not parties to the suit" (MEI 2 Feb. 1996, 12). A 29 January 1996 United Press International (UPI) report corroborates this definition. According to MEI, "...as long as hisba exists, any [Islamist] activist with access to a law office can try to impose a relatively strict version of Shari'a on civil society" (16 Feb. 1996, 11).

As an outcome of a hisba suit, in July 1995 Muslim university professor Nasr Abu-Seid was declared an apostate by a Court of Appeals because the "general tone of his writings were 'hostile to Islam'" (MEI 16 Aug. 1996) and "insulted Islam" (AFP 5 Aug. 1996; AP Worldstream 6 Aug. 1996). He was forcibly divorced from his wife by a lower court, a decision that was upheld on 5 August 1996 by the Court of Cassation, the highest court in the country (MEI 16 Aug. 1996, 13; Index on Censorship Sept./Oct. 1996, 88). However, on 19 December 1996, the Giza Emergency Appeals Court upheld a 25 September 1996 emergency court ruling "staying the order" against Nasr Abu Zeid that he divorce his wife (The Dallas Morning News 20 Dec. 1996).

Egyptian director Yussef Shahine's film "The Emigrant" was also banned under hisba because it "violated rules against screen depictions of such religious prophets as Joseph" (UPI 29 Jan. 1996).

According to a 5 August 1996 Agence France Presse (AFP) report,

[o]ther writers, intellectuals and film-makers judged to be blasphemous have been targetted in Egypt, amid a vigorous campaign to have their works banned. In 1992 author Farag Foda was assassinated, and in 1994 Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz was partially paralysed in a stabbing.

The attached 27 January 1996 Associated Press (AP) Online article corroborates the lawsuits brought against "secular writers, artists and intellectuals, claiming their work insults Islam" by religious lawyers.

On 30 January 1996, the People's Assembly enacted a bill to restrict hisba's use to the public prosecutor, but in the process of doing so, "explicitly recognized" its existence (MEI 16 Feb. 1996, 11; AP Online 27 Jan. 1996). In spring 1996, the People's Assembly began work on a bill to restrict the filing of hisba suits to those directly involved (MEI 16 Aug. 1996, 13).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Agence France Presse (AFP). 5 August 1996. "Court Upholds Divorce Order Against "Heretic" Lecturer." (NEXIS)

Associated Press (AP) Online. 27 January 1996. "Egypt to Limit Court Use." (NEXIS)

Associated Press (AP) Worldstream. 6 August 1996. Mariam Sami. "Islamic Divorce Case Called Blow to Egyptian Freedom." (NEXIS)

The Dallas Morning News. 20 December 1996. Home Final Edition. "Egyptian Court Suspends Divorce Ruling." (NEXIS)

Index on Censorship [London]. September/October 1996. Vol. 25, No. 5. "Index Index: Egypt."

Middle East International (MEI). [London]. 16 August 1996. No. 532. Steve Negus. "Egypt: Court's Shocking Ruling."

_____. 16 February 1996. No. 519. Steve Negus. "Egypt: Housing Law Reform."

_____. 2 February 1996. No. 518. Steve Negus. "Egypt: New Opposition Movement."

United Press International (UPI). 29 January 1996. BC Cycle. Nashwa Hanna. "Egypt Orders Bill on Islamic Law." (NEXIS)

Attachments


Agence France Presse (AFP). 5 August 1996. "Court Upholds Divorce Order Against "Heretic" Lecturer." (NEXIS)

Associated Press (AP) Online. 27 January 1996. "Egypt to Limit Court Use." (NEXIS)

Index on Censorship [London]. September/October 1996. Vol. 25, No. 5. "Index Index: Egypt," p. 88.

Middle East International (MEI) [London]. 16 August 1996. No. 532. Steve Negus. "Egypt: Court's Shocking Ruling," pp. 13-14.

_____. 16 February 1996. No. 519. Steve Negus. "Egypt: Housing Law Reform," p. 11.

United Press International (UPI). 29 January 1996. BC Cycle. Nashwa Hanna. "Egypt Orders Bill on Islamic Law." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted


Arab Law Quarterly [London]. Quarterly. 1993-present.

Arabies [Paris]. Monthly. January-December 1996.

Arab Studies Quarterly [Illinois]. Quarterly. January-December 1996.

Civil Society and Democratization in Egypt, 1981-1994. 1994.

Constitutions of the Countries of the World. October 1991. "Egypt."

DIRB. "Egypt" country file. January 1996-present.

_____. "Egypt: Amnesty International" country file. January 1996-present.

Egypt and the Sudan Travel Survival Kit. January 1994.

FBIS internet search.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1997. 1996.

Index on Censorship [London]. Bi-monthly. January-December 1996.

Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies [Villanova]. Quarterly. Winter 1995-Fall 1996.

MERIP Reports [Washington, DC]. Quarterly. January-December 1996.

The Middle East [London]. Monthly. January-December 1996.

The Middle East and North Africa 1996. 1996.

Middle East International [London]. Fortnightly. January-December 1996.

Monde Arabe Maghreb-Machrek [Paris]. Quarterly. January-December 1996.

News from Middle East Watch [New York]. Monthly. 1994-present.

On-line search of media sources.

Oral Sources:

4 oral sources contacted did not provide information on the requested topic.