I condemn Abdel Kareem Suleiman’s four year sentence and agree for a campaign for his release from Egytian jail.

In Egypt the secular liberal opposition is very weak and the Muslim Brotherhood very strong.The Islamist slogan in Algeria in 1990’s was “one man, one vote, one time.” ONE TIME.Which means dictatorship after the election.And the election where the Islamist won caused a civil war killing hundreds of thousands of Algerians

As Fatemah Farag wrote in AL-AHRAM :The losses have been staggering: all the leading figures of the left-leaning Tagammu Party lost their seats, including political veteran and former Free Officer Khaled Mohieddin in Kafr Shukr in Qalyoubiya, long-standing MP for Port Said El-Badri Farghali and labour representative Abul- Ezz El-Hariri, who failed to win in the Alexandria constituency of Karmouz. The Nasserites have yet to win a seat and only four members of the Wafd have been returned to parliament, leaving leading members such as Munir Fakhry Abdel-Nour out in the cold. The independent left is looking at a big fat zero.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/771/eg9.htm

Now if the alternative to Mubarak or his National Democratic Party in a truly democratic election is the Muslim Brotherhood – what is the solution for a liberal Arab like yourself if you lived in that situation?

Maybe someone could initiate a seperate blog entry on this topic?

Salam ya 3ajeeba!

The Free Kareem campaign is now one of the largest campaigns made to free a blogger in history, and we are proud of this achievement and will only make sure that the case remains news-worthy for as long as he will be in prison. The Free Kareem coalition is blessed with a talented and determined team who are willing to do a lot to achieve the most that we are all capable of.

Kareen obviously represents a modern point of view. And the people who felt offended represent a traditonal point of view.

Even if you think it’s not surprising that he got 3 years for his stance against Islam, HE GOT ONE YEAR FOR INSULTING THE PRESIDENT! Yes! I find that surprising and downright cruel! Whether or not I or anyone else find it surprising is actually none of anyone’s business, the fact is that it happened and will continue to happen for as long as people find it “not so surprising” and “predictable.”

It’s so easy to dismiss this case at the comfort of your home, claiming that there’s nothing to be done about it (and not by the likes of us anyways,) but my friend is in prison right now for having and expressing his opinion. He is suffering in prison right now because he felt the urge to continue expressing such opinions despite the threats, risks, and dire consequences that came with it. He did it for the sake of progress in the region, and in the name of freedom of speech. I will not allow anyone to justify this and claim that we’re fighting a lost cause. Kareem deserves to be fought for, and he will be fought for. I will not tolerate statements made against him at this point, claiming that “he asked for it.” No matter what his approach was, at the end of the day it was his opinions that put him in that jail cell – NOT his “crimes,” since he never committed any.

Really, can you be surprised they came down on him? You read more of his postings and comments to commenters than I did. WERE YOU surprised they paid attention to his barbs?

“3 years for his stance against Islam and 1 year for ‘defaming the President’” .this disproportion of religion power versus state power in a relation of 75 % to 25 % is deeply concerning & terrifying & shows that no common sense or rationality were used in Kareem’s trial. – the dark ages here in Europe were ruled by barbaric un-christian church rules & we’re glad here that these dark times of cruel dark religion ruling over humanity & common sense are over since long times – hmm but apparently not yet in ‘back again’ to dark mediavial Egypt & similar countries –
Recently I read in Israellicool’s page about a 18 year old young man who made a (typical unaware youth) remark – who got sentenced for years in prison & later on to death penality – see here: http://www.israellycool.com/blog/_archives/2007/2/3/2706219.html

.. – I hope we can do something in support of his miserable situation now & thank you Esra’a so much for your fight for Kareem’s freedom – the next step is to support him..

& by the way ‘Grant Thomas’ what you tell has as much to do with christian true belief, like catholic inquisition & crusaderdom, like Jihadist & all those other religion misusing zealots who cover their intentions for mischief with a hypocrytical coat of self-righteousness & aggression against disbelievers – there’s nothing in the origin words of christianity which could justify that – & didn’t say Jesus in his mountain sermon “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land” – .- you see Grant Thomas, your words have nothing to do with christianity..(well maybe try to be meek, to get in closer contact with your imagined religion..)

Keep it up

And I know you will continue defending Kareem I hope one day I get to meet and shake this brave man’s hand, whether here in the States or in Egypt (and you too, for that matter)!

Btw – I LOVED your little Bahrain protest that you held in defense of Kareem. It brought a huge smile to my face. Little in size but HUGE in spirit!

That’s all. Salaam.

Shokran ya akhee.

You are quite the amazing young muslimaha!! How did you get to become so different? What you have done in raising awareness for Kareem is really quite unbelievable, you should be VERY proud of yourself.

Thank you again Esra’a and to all those around you who have helped out. The fact that you describe Kareem as quiet and shy really upsets me when I think about him in prison. I weep for Kareem. You could tell, just by reading his posts, that he is a kind and gentle soul who has a trememendous amount of empathy and compassion – things I see lacking in the Arab world sometimes.

Anyways, I just wanted to get this off my chest and let you know what I think of you and your efforts! I’ve been following every step of the process from day one. Hopefully, with enough international pressure (since most Egyptians are rejoicing over his imprisonment) we can have a happy ending for Kareem.

Take care of yourself and be safe! Rabenna ya khaleek’ee

I am sorry to hear about Kareem’s sentence, it is a disappointing setback to say the least. I hope that you and are able to remain optimistic in spite of this injustice.
The community you have created and fostered through http://www.freekareem.com and the demonstrations you organized around the world no matter how small raised awareness and helped bring people together for an important cause. Demonstrations are never insignificant. By protesting with others rather than disapproving alone, there is solidarity.

I think Grant Thomas isn’t joking. People who write such comments forget that the Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics have been fighting each for many years now. It seems to skip their mind when they point fingers at people of other faiths.

I’m a Catholic who grew up in the Middle East. Most of my friends were Muslims. If I had to relive my life again, I would definitely choose the same friends.

Please tell me I am mistaken, but I don’t think your efforts will change Kareem’s sentence.

Well that’s too bad; because it already did. He faced 11 years, he got 4, and he might get less with the appeal due to these efforts.

If you don’t believe in it, then I don’t think you truly understand the significance of what we’re doing. And I guess I don’t blame you because you weren’t there from Day 1 to see and experience the things we managed to achieve since November when our campaign first started.

I used to do the same thing.

I’m not talking about protests alone, why do you make this seem so insignificant than what it already is?

The world CHANGED.

This isn’ the 70’s! These aren’t sheer anti-war protests, the kind that you held and used to attend!

The world changed and it is constantly changing due to similar efforts. The entire face of the media changed. Communication strategies changed. Don’t tell me “I did this and I failed,” when we have did similar things in the past and succeeded. We are enforcing change. We are taking part in things that have the power to literally change our socities in the Middle East, and no one is going to even imply that we’re failures without me proving the fact that we are the force that the Middle East requires for change to take place.

We will succeed. We are already succeeding. We have the power to change things and we will not be discouraged by people who imply otherwise.

I won’t give up; ever. Many other activists face the same fate as you did, and go around saying “we failed” and thus they give up, but when activism is just a phase to you then such people shouldn’t be taken seriously. Because we don’t fail. We consider the options and the possibilities. There is no such thing as failure when it comes to activism. If you truly believe in it, you will succeed.

And we are succeeding. Big time. Deep inside, even Kareem himself knows it.

If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t he supposed to get 10-20 years?

I think it was 3-11 years.

Please tell me I am mistaken, but I don’t think your efforts will change Kareem’s sentence. However I did ask, because it is true in US penal system code, “time off for good behavior”; there is a review board that one can appeal to after a certain percentage of the term is finished.
And I doubt this will affect Kareem in the long run of his life. I said there are alot of benefits from this. look on the bright side. From all your efforts you have put his name out front of all those groups and individuals you mentioned. He has recognition, and maybe it is due in a large part to your (and how many others?) efforts. He is healthy and he has communication, however limited with the outside. to help maintain those connections. He could, from my limited point of view, become a political force, perhaps.

Still with all those positives, dear Esra’a, I wouldn’t do it. I would let a woman like you continue. Like I said, its your karma. It remains to be seen how much Kareem appreciates your work. It ain’t for nothing that I have that tag line at the bottom as my signature in the forum….words outnumbering deeds, etc.
I am thinking of Kareem’s obligations he is incurring, not yours m’lady.

Esra’a, cheer up. You’ve done all you can. If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t he supposed to get 10-20 years? If he gets 4 then that’s still a victory… not a big or complete one, but still a victory if you think about it. Smile or I’ll come to Europe and tickle you!