LeMAG: February 2007

LeMAG: DREAMS between SEX and POLITICS

The Place: Alexandria.
The date: كريم عامر: بركاتك يا أزهر !!!!

Barakatak ya walle.
wikipedia says:
During the Ottoman era, (1517-1805) Islamic courts constituted the judicial system applied. Judges had their verdicts directly based on Islamic jurisprudence (Sharia) principles as far as civil and criminal disputes were concerned. This continued in effect until the end of the 18th Century.
And here, now, at the same place, some 500 years later, and the poor guy is still in jail for having taken the right to say two words of Wonders in a Local Language!!!

and here some recent news.

And here is the translation in English of his post بركاتك يا أزهر with some links as to relate to the local concept.

Your Blessings Ya Azhar!!!!

A man can find himself linked unwillingly to something that, he cannot separate from, even if he refuses it or, even hates it. But comes the decisive moment where he is given the chance to free himself from this heavy burden forever and, without any consequences or side effects.

It is quite rare to suffer any harsh consequences from such a separation; however the probability of such happenings happened to me in what I had to face lately.

When I joined the Azhar for my studies on my parents wish, even though I completely refuse the concept of the Azhar and religious thinking. And later on, my writings criticized the religious integration in public life and the control over the common daily life and the simplest human interactions ordering their conduct. However, getting rid of these chains, being a former student, was neither simple nor easy.

So when I was granted my freedom materialized in my final expulsion from the university last March, I thought that everything ended there and that my dismissal was a lease for my freedom from the noose around my neck, the neck of the Azhar students, and then on the entire society and life in our country at various levels. The Azhar ignored what the Gomhoureya newspaper published regarding my “investigation” papers at the office of the “correctional committee”, which I refused to sign according to my own reasons, a copy being sent to the District attorneys office. I also ignored the refusal of the university’s dean office to hand me a copy of my file and gave me the impression that life will go on without burdening myself thinking about what may come. I had the impression that they were more than happy (as well as I) to get rid of me, by expelling me I thought it would cut all relations we had. I than decided to let the thing go and let them keep my file with all my original civic papers and proceeded to apply for an extract of originals that I needed much.

Apparently however, the Azhar "blessings" on its students cannot be lost easily, it did follow as an own shadow, from one side having completed the Azhar Secondary Education, one may not enroll for regular State University, I did try many times even before I was expelled and, all of my efforts failed. So by having their damned diploma, I lost the equal chance, as any other citizen of the country, to study at a regular college university.
The Azhar's "blessings" do not stop only at banning its students the rights to complete their studies away from them, but also what I foresee seriously coming in the coming days, Azharian “blessings” extending mainly against who tries to criticize or refuse the principles of what they teach and how they teach it. Some of the matters they teach do clash with logic and others accentuate violence against others, taking it to death limits. It did happen to me when the Sharia students and the Ashawes group aggressed me personally using white weapons (knives) and, wanted me dead as to protect the Faith in Allah’s. A senior student informed me explaining what happened last May in front of the university. However, I do believe that a new life road I should expect since I managed to escape them and saved my life from their hands – but, I crossed these gates to be imprisoned and put in jail. It see it coming to me in my near future and I do see what I will be facing in the next couple of days. I do not like to predict and foretell. However, I have to be prepared so the reality will not suddenly hit and strike me.

A couple of hours ago I received a letter from the Local District attorney’s office requesting my presence for an ongoing investigation on next Monday in the Police station of Moharam Bek district in Alexandria. The investigation were linked to the claims raised by the Azhar University against me, their need to “interfere” with my writing and my publications outside their walls on the (free) Internet space, where they have no control. It seems to me that the Azhar’s “blessings” that I thought got rid of by obtaining my expulsion letter of freedom is hunting me until today and that the request for the appeal by the police authorities is just one of the parts of these “blessings" that will not part its victims, similar to what happened to Dr. Nasr Hammed Abu Zeid and what happened to him forcing him to separate and divorce his wife, and similar to Dr. Ahmad Sobhi Mansour who's with the Azhar’s blessings managed to get him in jail and his subsequent immigration (exile) outside the country forever or in the "blessings" case of Dr. Nawal Alsaadawi and Ahmad Al Sahawy and others whose publications are banned of publishing and distribution in the entire country due to the Azhar reports.

I am absolutely not frightened. My happiness comes from the fact that the anti-free thinkers are dealing with me in this manner corresponds to those who are intellectually bankrupt and it does raise my self-confidence in my own ideals and principles. I am prepared to face anything and everything to be able to say what I think freely without any restrictions or chains put on me by governments or religious institutions and also collective totalitarian regimes using these ways to achieve continuity of decadent practices. Practices of the enemies of thoughts that abolish people minds either by religion or drugs.

Just the fact that there are laws that criminalize the freedom of thinking and punishes whoever dares to criticize religion in any form by imprisonment is considered a serious fault in the legal system that should in the first place be the structure that governs and sets people interactions and, not to impose restrictions in favor of religion or the law -itself- or any other social structure. Because the human being – the individual – is the principle and he precedes everything else. So to criminalize an individual for criticizing the social structure, religion or the authority – natural behavior that came after that primary individual existence – It is a serious and dangerous effect of these very laws and regulations surpassing their limits of effectiveness and interfere with matters that belong to the realm of individual freedom that is considered a secret and no one -whoever may be- is allowed to cross.

I am hereby and in all clearness and openness declare my rejection and disgust from any law and regulation and authority (system) that does not respect the individual’s rights and personal freedom, that does not believe and acknowledge the complete freedom of the individual to express his views what ever they may be as long as these views were presented in speech and has’t been connected to any behavior (action) that might hurt others. So here I do declare that at this time, these laws do not obligate me in any way and I do accept them or their existence. I do not respect anyone who helps in their implementation, uses it as a guide or reference and who ever tolerate their existence or worse, benefits from them. And if these laws are forced upon us and we are in a state of helplessness then this is due to those who have other “agendas” and benefit for the current situation where they are more than happy to have it and keep it as it is. This will never make me susceptible to surrender or prone to wait for any negotiations or compromise.

I do hereby declare truly and openly refusal and rejection of any law or constitution and any ruling order that does not respect the individual rights and his personal freedom, that does not confess respect absolute human rights as long as it doesn't touch the others in a materialistic way and does not approve freedom of expressing opinions whatever are the arguments and the topics as long as these expressions are words said by people and not linked with materialistic acts that intend harm others, at the same time I declare clearly that such laws are not my concern and do not accept its presence and deeply despise all that work for these laws to be applied and all that refer to these laws in a juridical way and all that support them and gain advantage of them. These regulations imposed on us are not in our hands to change them but in the hands of the ones gaining high interest that are satisfied strongly for their presence and have interests in keeping them. But, all of this will not make me surrender nor wait for delivery and reconciliation.

I also declare from here that I do not approve the legality of the procedures to question me regarding a subject like this actual one that, is in the limits of freedom of expression, dictated by the declaration of the international human rights that Egypt supposedly have signed. Although, regardless the presence of such regulations and even if Egypt did not sign, these human rights are obvious matters that do not need laws and regulations to limit their matters.

To all the envious people who can imagine and think that all these naive manipulations will change my attitude and force me to alter the course that I set for myself I would like to say: die from your envy and hide in your holes, I will not back up, not even for an eye blink, I will not change any of the words I have written and whatever chains you will put on me will not affect my dream to win my freedom. It has been my companion from childhood and will keep on shimmering my imagination till the endless time.

And to the Azhar University, its professors and Sheikhs who stood and are still standing against any notion of free thought that is far away from all their superstition and bigotry I would like to say: your existence will fall into the junk of history and then you will not find anyone who will shed a tear on you and rest assured that your states will shatter and disappear as happened to others like you. And happy is the one who learn from others mistakes!
Karim Amer. Saturday October 28th, 2006

Today Karim was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment.

I find this issue pathetic but may be in a foreign language one can say what he wants. Foreigners in our country. That is what i call discrimination.
I found myself once telling a European friend (not to say french), if we argue, regardless who is guilty and, go to the Egyptian police they will not keep you but me, if we go to the french police they will still keep me and release you. This is what I call racial discrimination. I do not think that Karim Amer would have gone to jail if he said what he said in another language!
(please disagree and tell me that I am wrong).