In oppressive countries, the noble persons dwell behind the bars. Don’t grieve my friends, I’m in the normal place!

I’ve made a mistake when I was in Hisham Mubarak Law Center once, and declared my intention to write a sequel to my article “The army and the people were never one hand.” However, when I get detained in order not to write a specific article, it becomes the most valued testimony I could ever receive in my lifetime!

This is the seventh time to get detained; Two times in Syria, two times at the hands of the Egyptian police, and three times at the hands of the Egyptian military. How many times are required before I can live free?!

In Mubarak’s era, detentions were issued by administrative decisions. But nowadays, blessed with the Military Council, detentions pass through military court rulings!

Yesterday, Saturday 9th April 2011, I’ve commemorated the second anniversary of No for Compulsory Military Service Movement by drinking juice and eating some pieces of chocolates. O’ Egypt! Why do you always steal our joy deliberately?!

I’m reminiscing Mubarak and State Security days now! At least, I have never been sent to prison, and neither beaten by a state security officer, nor sexually harassed!

Weirdly enough, on the walls of the opposite cell, some prisoner has inscribed “This is from the favour of my Lord.*” Is this your favour, Lord? Do You really bless those who kill and torture our brothers?!

“You! With the star, eagle, and beret**… Why are you possessed by arresting young men?

“Raise the walls of my prison more and more! The revolt will soon destroy the sore!”

These are the chants which I keep on repeating inside the military prison!

I can feel the intention of harming me after the court ruling. Don’t believe the army’s worthless claims about suicide attempts. Hence, the Military Council is responsible for my safety and well-being until the time of my release.

Thanks to everyone worldwide who showed solidarity with me. Freedom has its price, and I’m paying this price behind the prison walls, while you’re paying it outside.

—

Note:

Maikel Nabil has written this article in Arabic on Sunday 10th April 2011, and handed it to one of his lawyers inside the military court around 1400 local time, before being informed with the “mysterious” court ruling which has sentenced him to 3 years in prison charging him for the likes of articles, Facebook comments, and many other unbelievable things words.

Foot notes:

* 27 – 40 of Qur’an. This specific verse, Ayah, among various verses, is used publicly in different contexts to publicly praise to the Islamic god, Allah. You will surely witness this verse inscribed on many shops nameplates, service cars, private cars, as well as home entrances, etc… Maikel here denotes to a popular phrase, but this time inscribed by a prisoner on the wall of his own cell, which Maikel perceives as weird.

** Reference to the Egyptian army and police insignias and uniforms.

Maikel in a flash

Maikel is a 26 year old anti-militarism activist, pacifist, and blogger. He studied veterinary medicine and was exempted from the compulsory military service for being a harsh critic of the conscription. He’s also a vocal critic of violence, wars, and militarism. Maikel has founded a famous movement named No for Compulsory Military Service exactly from two years ago. He was arrested three times by the military police in Egypt in the last 6 months, and blogged about his second experience on Mideast Youth here. His liberal opinions, as well as being the first publicly contentious objector in Egypt, have stirred a lot of controversy in a third world country which is powered by a reactionary society stacked with routine, tradition, and conspiracy, let alone the military institution. Tragically enough, a major sect of the so-called Egyptian humanitarians, activists, and bloggers are still possessed, themselves, by conspiracy, and some of them even bless the country’s historical oppression against the minorities. Maikel is trapped in the middle of a reactionary society, dictatorial military institution, and a swamp of mutant silent civil society. On Sunday night, 10th April 2011, Nabil was sentenced in absentia to three years in jail. Then he was immediately moved to Marg Prison, not Tura prison complex as mentioned before. Let alone the legitimacy of the military court to a civilian and the verdict, the court has lied to the lawyers, hidden the facts, and deceived everyone, even Maikel himself. They’ve claimed at the beginning that the court ruling would be issued on Tuesday April 12th, but it was already issued in absentia on Sunday. They’ve lied again when they’ve claimed that Maikel would be moved to Tura prison complex, while in fact he was moved to Marg prison in north east Cairo.

This article was exclusively published on MEYArabic, and translated into English by MEY team.

Links:

Free Maikel Nabil on Facebook.

Petition to support Maikel Nabil.

#FreeMaikel and #MaikelNabil on Twitter.

Executing dissents has never been a solution to any on-going problems a nation may have; though it has been one of the oldest method of silencing the dissents. Iran’s governmental system is supposed to be based on Sharia, sets of Islamic Laws based on Quran and Hadith; thus Iran, after the toppling of Shah in 1979, adopted the name Islamic Republic, of Iran, by popular referendum. However, Iran only nominally follows Sharia and many of its principles and laws are never followed.

There have been, during early Islam, many people who criticized Islam and the Islamic government they lived in, never were they harassed or executed. For example, Muhammad al Warraq was a 9th century scholar skeptical and critic of Islam and Ibn al-Rawandi initially a Muslim became a “freethinker” who repudiated Islam. During Islamic medieval world, there were many who openly criticized Islam and wrote about it: a Persian physician Muhammad ibn Zakariya al Razi who in his many treatises criticized Islam, yet still remained a celebrated physician across the Islamic world (1); a Jewish philosopher Ibn Kammuna criticized Islam in his book “Examination of the Three Faith” and went as far as attacking Prophet Muhammad’s character (2); and many other people whom were allowed to criticize as much as they wanted as it was under the Islamic Law of the Islamic Caliphate to freely express their views about Islam and religious authorities without any fear of persecution (3).

Countless of examples of freedom of speech and ideas are present during the Golden Age of Islam that had people of different faith occupying high governmental positions in the Islamic kingdoms, such as Hasday ben Shiprut and Ibn Nagrela of Granada. This letter by Al-Hasyimi, cousin of Caliph Al-Ma’mun, says much about how non-Muslims or those whose views and ideas were different then the status quo of the Islamic kingdom, in which Al-Hasyimi is attempting to covert a religious opponent:

“Therefore bring forward all the arguments you wish and say whatever you please and speak your mind freely. Now that you are safe and free to say whatever you please, appoint some arbitrator who will impartially judge between us and lean only towards the truth and be free from the empery of passion: and that arbitrator shall be Reason, whereby God makes us responsible for our own rewards and punishments. Herein I have dealt justly with you and have given you full security and am ready to accept whatever decision Reason may give for me or against me. For “there is no compulsion in religion” (ii. 257) and I have only invited you to accept our faith willingly and of your own record and have pointed out the hideousness of your present belief. Peace be with you and the mercy and blessings of God“!

The reasons that during those Islamic times people of all walk could freely speak their mind was not because the rulers were of good character and humane, albeit it was true for most of them, the source however for the freedom of speech comes from Quran that the rulers implemented in their governmental laws. Quranic verses like 9:71, 9:67, 22:41 all gives the individual the right to freely speak their mind, as long as they are not defaming and are not libel, and of course, lies and deception. Including the chapter 109:

“Say: O ye that reject Faith! (Islam) I worship not that which ye worship nor will ye worship that which I worship. And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship nor will ye worship that which I worship. To you be your Way, and to me mine. Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion. you shall have your religion and I shall have my religion.”

And chapter 11:28:

“He said: “O my people! See ye if (it be that) I have a Clear Sign from my Lord, and that He hath sent Mercy unto me from His own presence, but that the Mercy hath been obscured from your sight? shall we compel you to accept it when ye are averse to it?”

So it is very clear from these verses and examples from the Islamic kingdoms that Islam protects each individual from having different mind, opinion, and faith.

Thus Sherko Moarafi’s arrest and scheduled execution is against the very system Iran is thought to be adopted and following; because not only does Moarafi have a different idea, an idea of supporting equal opportunities of education for all peoples of Iran, which Islam accepts, he also have not committed any violence and used any offensive or abusive words. There is no evidence that Moarafi is a member of any political group, or even non-political group, and this also is another violation of Islam and Sharia that that there cannot be anyone persecuted without any clear evidence.

The Kurds of Iran, who makes up 12 to 15 percent of the population, have been facing all kinds of oppression and inequality. Their Kurdish language is not allowed to be taught in any educational institution; their language cannot be used in any public and governmental institution; and the Kurdish populated areas remain to be the most underdeveloped part of Iran as well as having great problems from housing by forced eviction and to the destruction of Kurdish villages during the Iran-Iraq war that the government have long neglected.

Reports after reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been produced pointing out the government’s repressive policies and actions towards the Kurds. In a 2008 report, Amnesty International said that the Kurds have been a particular target of the government and the Kurds’ “social, political and cultural rights have been repressed, as have their economic aspirations“. In a more recent report, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said: “what is alarming in this spree of executions is that the execution of Kurdish activists, without fair trials and following torture, increasingly appears as a systematic, politically motivated process“.

Iran is not only breaking the international law of human rights, and not only carrying out inhumane policies, it is also breaking its own Sharia law that it has adopted. Iran must become tolerant to views different than theirs and respect human rights and beings. Sherko Moarafi is an activist that has voiced out for the rights of underdeveloped and repressed people. His arrest is an illegal act and his execution is an act of inhumanity that will only limit the human freedom of rights not only in Iran, but universally. The international community must strongly urge Iran to drop its discriminatory policies and push Iran to halt these ruthless executions. The General-Secretary of United Nation Ben Ki-moon must speak about this issue and bring into the attention of Iranian officials that they are watching and monitoring such activities in Iran.

Meanwhile, you and I can right now do our part in trying to save an innocent life by:

-Signing petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petition/32085.html

-Send emails to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Sherko and all political prisoners in Iran. A sample letter appears here: http://missionfreeiran.org/2011/03/30/shirko-action/ – and – http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2011/03/urgent-appeal-for-sherko-moarefi-due-to.html

(1) Jennifer Michael Hecht, “Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson”, pg. 227-230

(2) Norman A. Stillman. The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book p. 261. Jewish Publication Society, 1979

(3) Boisard, Marcel A. (July 1980). “On the Probable Influence of Islam on Western Public and International Law”. International Journal of Middle East Studies

Perhaps the real reason is that the broadcast would have highlighted the plight of thousands of victims, including many children, who are homeless and without food, power and water. That would’ve damaged Israel’s image as the ‘innocent’ party to this crisis.

As for question marks on aid getting through – that decision is not the responsibility of the broadcasters, and they have before never questioned the assessments of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

We need to urgently complain to the BBC, Sky and ITV. Politics must not get in the way of aid so desperately needed by people in Gaza.

BBC tel. 03700 100 222 – Textphone 03700 100 212 -

Sky: newsonline@bskyb.com
ITV: viewerservices@itv.com

For online complaints to BBC, go to this link and then follow the instructions.

Please act and pass this

Here is the video that they refused broadcasting

Click Here

I personally do not see anything offensive in this video to BBC or its integrity. This is a clear sign of bias towards the Palestinian conflict. A few years ago, the BBC refused to broadcast a program “Panorama” about Ariel Sharon and his connection in the Sabra and Shatila Massacres in 1982 in Beirut.

Here below I’ll post the mail as I received it, but there is more background information at the IPCRI site – under “What’s NEW in IPCRI”:

A Museum of Tolerance built on top of a Muslim Cemetery in Jerusalem?

Hard to Believe? It must be stopped!!!!

Join the Campaign

October 29, 2008

Can you even imagine the possibility of the State of Israel and the Jerusalem municipality building a Museum of Tolerance on the site of a Muslim Cemetery in the heart of Jerusalem? Well it is happening. We tried to fight it in court but we lost.

Imagine what would happen if someone in Europe – in Germany or Austria for instance, tried to build a Museum of Tolerance on top of Jewish graves.

The legal battle has been lost, now we must move on to the political battle. We must prevent this museum from being built on that site. Jerusalem will never be a city of peace if this is allowed to move forward.

Jerusalem is the one city in the world where there is a real potential to demonstrate that Jews, Christians and Muslims can live together in peace, understanding and real tolerance. Jerusalem is the place where we can learn to celebrate the diversities of our civilizations. If the construction of this museum is allowed to resume on top of a Muslim cemetery of religious and historical importance in the center of Jerusalem, this Holy city, will never realize its potential.

For the peace of Jerusalem, for the chance of peace, understanding and tolerance between Jews, Muslims and Christians we must stop this dangerous act.

We call on the Government of Israel and the Municipality of Jerusalem to stop the construction of the Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in name of public safety and in protection of the reputation of the State of Israel and the safety of Jews all around the world.

We call on Jerusalemites, Israelis and Palestinians to join our campaign.

We call on the candidates for Mayor of Jerusalem and for the Jerusalem City Council to speak out during the remaining days of the campaign – promise us that you won’t let this Museum be built in the Mamilla Cemetery.

We call on the Chief Rabbis of Israel not to let this shame on Judaism take place. In the name of Judaism, do not allow this Museum to built on top of Muslim graves.

We call on Israelis and Palestinians alike to send letters to your Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers urging them to stop the construction of the Museum in that location.

We call on Jews all over to write to the Wiesenthal Center Director Rabbi Hier urging him to change the location of the Museum. We urge Jews everywhere to write to the Government of Israel voice your objection to building a Museum of Tolerance on top of Muslim graves.

We call on Rabbis around the world to join the campaign. We are looking for several Rabbis who will coordinate organizing a Rabbis letter against the building of the Museum over Muslim graves.

We call on citizens of the world to join the campaign – raise your voices, – write to your own governments urging them to pressure the Israeli government to cease the construction of the Museum in that location.

Useful addresses and contacts:

President Marvin Hier, Dean, Wiesenthal Center
Fax: ++1-310-553-4521
email: information@wiesenthal.net

President Shimon Peres
Fax: ++972-2-567-1314
email: president@president.gov.il

Prime Minister Olmert
Fax: +972-2-670-5475
email: pmo.heb@it.pmo.gov.il

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni
Fax: ++972-2-530-3367
email: sar@mfa.gov.il

Mayor of Jerusalem
Fax: ++972-2-629-6014
email: mankal@jerusalem.muni.il

Sfardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar
Fax: ++972-2-537-1305
email: rabbis@rabbinate.gov.il

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi
Fax: ++972-2-537-7872
email: rabbia@rabbinate.gov.il

President Mahmoud Abbas
Fax: ++972-2-240-9648

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
Fax: ++972-2- 295-0970

Foreign Minister Riad Malki
Fax: ++970-2-240-3372 or ++972-2-240-3372
email: mofapal@gmail.com

For as long as anyone can remember, the Kurdish people have been abused and denied basic human rights by oppressive governments who seek to eradicate the Kurdish identity from the Middle East. Just yesterday the Syrian police shot and killed three young Kurds and wounded several others for merely celebrating Newroz, the Kurdish new year.

Mideast Youth as well as a number of Kurdish activists have started campaigning for Kurdish human rights and spreading awareness about the human rights violations of the Kurds in Kurdistan and in the diaspora as a result of decades of oppression they have faced and continue to face everyday while the international community turns the other way.

MidEast Youth is seeking to expand the project and make KurdishRights.Org a collaborative project where we Middle Easterns can all join forces against coercion, intimidation, hatred, and racism in order to shed some light upon the often forgotten brutality that the Kurds face on a daily basis by oppressive regimes.

As a Kurd myself, I believe that this site has huge potential and we expect it to be the home of Kurdish human rights advocacy, not just by Kurds but everyone who supports Kurdish rights is welcome to join us and contribute as an author.

In order to meet that goal, we need to raise at least $600 to make this website as accessible and as professional as possible, which is impossible to do without any source of funding. We need this site to be secure, as the site has survived several attacks in the past.

The Kurdish minorities all over the Middle East have suffered greatly for many decades with rarely any international or local support. This has to change, and this site will definitely contribute to this change. Now we as students and youth activists are standing up to say “enough!”

Please help us by raising this amount. If each of you donate just $10, we can reach our target sooner than expected and start working on the much-needed campaign immediately.

Please help us by donating!

To learn more on the plight of the Kurds as well as this cause, listen to an interview with Niroj.

From Rasha’s Post

“International women’s day passed unnoticed here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Almost all the women I talked to didn’t even know that the 8th of March was a day to celebrate women’s accomplishments.”

She is one of the leaders of the movement to overturn the ban on woman driving [with Fawzia al-Oyouni, Ibtihal Mubarak, and Haifa U.] Infact the petition last September was a brain child of her’s with the other activist. In 1990 some 47 woman drove in the capital Riyad, defying the ban. They were quickly rounded up.. but the difference b/w now n then is alot.. esp w/ all the reforms put in motion by the new King Abdullah n the fact tht lots of ppl are open to women driving. Arab News surveyed 400 women on the issue, and said 282 of them said they would drive alone if allowed to, 44 said they would continue to use drivers, 30 said they would drive, but only when accompanied by a male guardian, and 12 opposed the idea of women driving altogether.

Saudi woman activist marked this year’s International Women’s Day by defying a ban on women driving in the ultra-conservative kingdom and posted a video of her act on YouTube.

Wajiha Huwaidar, a leading activist in a campaign to allow women to get behind the wheel in the desert kingdom, confirmed to AFP on Sunday that it was her in the video posted on the popular website.

“Women can drive in the countryside. There is no problem with that. Some women do the school run everyday without being obstructed,” she claimed.

“What is important is to allow women to drive in urban areas.”

I know for a that women drive in the urban areas. I have seen it myself couple of times esp. on the Dhahran-Abquiq road…

Saudi woman flouts driving ban on YouTube

Story2

*** UPDATE**

this article has some details

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/11/saudi.women.drivers/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

A famous Persian saying (poetry, actually), even though somewhat pessimistic, I can’t help but think
that it stands true for the fate of us Iranians living under the Islamic “Republic”. Living in Iran, on some
days, I would find myself in situations where I could not help but think, ‘You know what?! We deserve it!
We deserve living under such a brutal dictatorship because we’re no less than idiots in our social interactions,
morals and standards.’

Aside from that element of rage, I am even more angered to see supporting evidence for what I think
in my moments of passionate fury.

I remember just a few years ago when Micheal Jackson, the popstar, was on trial for possible pedophile and
such charges, I came accross articles by Reutors and AP of pictures of Jackson’s supporters.
Of all place… they were from Iran. Iranian, young and old, held candle light vigils for their dear
Micheal suffering in pain. . . I really dont know if this is saddening or maddening–definitly what
I would call pathetic.

More recently countless Iranians, within and without Iran, signed petitions after petition, called to the UN to
protest the fictional movie 300 made by Hollywood because it portrayed Cyrus not in the form they appreciated. Such mobilization is impressive for us Iranians because we’re quite the individualist hot–headed people.

Supporting Micheal Jackson was surely not what angered me, rather, it was the time, effort and belief
that these Iranians spent on Micheal Jackson which was far more than–at best, equal to–the care
they showed for other more important topics to protest and commemorate. I would hate to think that
the victims of September 11th got the same commemoration as Jackson…

Ramin Ahmadi–a famous Iranian activist residing in the States–also voiced the same concern on VOA
a few days ago. His comparison was so poignent it has taken me a few days to actually be able to
type up what he retold.

Ahmadi is originally from Kerman, a south eastern state in Iran. Kerman has seen many political activists,
infamous and not politicitans, and notable historical characters rise from its cradle. A prominent member of Mossadegh’s cabinet Dr Ahmad Razavi, the former president of the IR Ali Hashemi-Rafsanjani, Ahmadi
himself and most famous, Saeedi Sirjani. Sirjani was a laureate, a scholar with a firm voice and writing
style. He is unrivaled in Iran’s written culture in the current century. Of his more political pieces, was an
open letter to the Supreme leader of the IR, in which he wrote his own death sentance–for lack of a better
description. Sirjani was soon taken into prison, and mysteriously died a few years later. Some Iranians mourned
the loss of such a brave, strong and honourable personality in Iranian hisotry. I don’t remember candle light
vigils…

More recently, Ahmadi retold the story of a Kermani poet who fell prey to the hands of the IR. As Ahmadi
described him, he was a humble school teacher from a lower middle class family who wrote poetry as a
hobby. Not as voiced as Sirjani was, however he did write political poetry once in a while. Very recently,
one night, agents raided his small house to rid society of such corruption. The murderers are linked by
ex-pat organizations as related to the famous Chain Murderer bandit of Saeed Imami who killed at least 20 laureates in the late 90′s in Iran. They went in to murder this poet with a knife. In the midst of the midnight
raid his eight year old son, sleeping in the room nextdoor woke up to the scene of his father being stabbed
to death. It only took a second for the slaughterers to murder the eight year old, stab him to death with a
knife just like his father. The bandit left the house untouched to prove that this was a political murder and
not theft.

His wife, some time later, went to the local Kermani police to start an investigation. The police attempted and a few days later sent a notice to the wife that, “We have recieved warning from higher authorities that this case
may not be investigated.”

Where were the candle light vigils for the eight year old boy and his father who were stabbed to death?

In chat rooms? At the mall to buy the latest mobile phones? Watching Haifa’s latest show broadcasted
from Dubai’s MBC2?

Ours is what we bring upon ourselves…

Please send this to as many people as you can.

Watch our video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSuFddhbfJ4[/youtube]

Sign the petition here.

You can bet two things:
1- We are going to do something about this.
2- We are going to succeed at it, no matter what it takes.

Watch the film trailer below:

[quicktime width="320" height="240"]http://www.anotherroadhomethemovie.com/ARHtrailerfinalSm_Prog.mov[/quicktime]

And thank you, Tom Palmer, for directing more attention towards this case as well.

If you haven’t read our previous articles about the campaign here and don’t know the background behind Kareem’s case, be sure to read the press releases concerning this subject, especially this detailed article by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo). The website is updated constantly, featuring letters by Kareem from prison.