Tomorrow (the 9th of November), there will be Free Kareem rallies taking place in 14 locations around the world, including much of Europe, the USA, Brazil and Mexico. Visit our campaign for constant updates and detailed information.

This is the third worldwide rally we hold for Kareem. You can see previous examples here. Overall we had about 15 countries involved, including Bahrain. I think it’s a decent strategy to keep Kareem in people’s minds and in the mainstream media. It wouldn’t have been possible without the help of friends and true believers of free speech who commit themselves to these rallies a few times a year. I cannot thank such friends enough.

Today, Khaled Diab, a Brussels-based journalist, wrote an excellent article about the rallies and about Kareem’s case in general. Here’s the relevant information:

With no imminent sign of the young blogger’s release, the Free Kareem Coalition has organised rallies outside Egyptian embassies and consulates in some 14 American and European cities to express their solidarity with the Egyptian blogger.

Interestingly, although this is an interfaith campaign, most of its members are, in fact, Muslims. “The creators and main supporters of the Free Kareem Coalition are Muslim, and we are doing this despite what Kareem said about our religion. Free speech doesn’t mean speech that you approve of. It includes criticism,” they explain on their website.

This is a laudable sentiment which, unfortunately, too many Muslims may object to, arguing that we must draw the line at the disparaging of religion. But why? As I’ve argued before, ridiculing and insulting Islam is not a new-fangled innovation or something that only non-Muslims do. Muslims have been doing it and getting away with it since the very dawn of the faith.

The rallies have been featured not too long ago in the Daily Star Egypt as well.

Yesterday, the 6th of November, marked Kareem’s first year in prison. A year ago, this was my reaction.

Exactly 15 minutes after we got the news… his campaign site was up and running. By December we had thousands of hits per day, by February, when he was officially trialled and sentenced to 4 years, it was dozens of thousands, which overwhelmed our servers and we had to pay more to keep the site running. The site remains to be updated weekly. It will remain active for as long as Kareem is in prison.

I can’t believe it’s been this long. I just wish Kareem realizes how much support he has from people around the world who really appreciate his courage. Please show your support by writing about the rallies in your blog or by showing up to one if you’re in any of these locations. Let Egypt know that one year is more than enough for Kareem in prison.