Trouble for blogging in the Lower Kingdom

Meanwhile in Cairo...













From the BBC:

An Egyptian court has sentenced a blogger to four years' prison for insulting Islam and the president.

Hmm, England? Still feeling good about those blasphemy laws? This the example you want to follow?

He had used his web log to criticise the country's top Islamic institution, al-Azhar university and President Hosni Mubarak, whom he called a dictator.

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A former student at al-Azhar, he called the institution "the university of terrorism" and accused it of suppressing free thought.

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During the five-minute court session the judge said Soliman was guilty and would serve three years for insulting Islam and inciting sedition, and one year for insulting Mr Mubarak.

Egypt arrested a number of bloggers who had been critical of the government during 2006, but they were all subsequently freed.

I could have some sympathy for the Egyptian position, as it faces a radical Islamic movement bent on assassination, terror, and overthrow. They are active and violent. So watching what is happening online on sites and blogs makes sense.

But this guy is not even remotely related to this. He is critical of the religion and radicals, and also of the government.

He is questioning the dictatorship...gulp..No, wait, I'm not in Egypt.

This is his crime. It's like the old joke, where the arrested person is guilty of revealing state secrets (Secret: The ruler is fat and stupid.).

This is a dictatorship, and an American ally. And we like them the way they are. Sadly, it is what is holding back Islamic revolutionary. Of course, is it preventing the revolution or letting it build up a steam? Is this going to prevent it from ever happening, or just stalling?

Egypt doesn't seem to be working to end the threat (social change vs. military might). And that is the problem here. Tightening the reins is quick and easy. Leading your society away form the fundamentalists grip is hard. And it would also lead to less power for those on top. And in a dictatorship, doing the hard things and giving up power is rarely are rarely chosen options.

Fellow blogger Amr Gharbeia told the BBC it would not stop Egyptian bloggers from expressing opinions as "it is very difficult to control the blogosphere".