Courts in Egypt apparently continue to vigorously enforce Egyptian laws barring contempt of religion, reflecting Article 44 of Egypt's Constitution which provides: "Insult or abuse of all religious messengers and prophets shall be prohibited."
On June 11 in Luxor, the Misdemeanor Court fined a Coptic Christian elementary school teacher EGP 100,000 ($14,000 US) for insulting Islam. According to Egypt Daily News, parents of three students complained that 24-year old Demiana Abdel Nour told students that the late Pope Shenouda III performed more miracles than the Prophet Muhammad, and that the teacher also placed her hand on her stomach to convey nausea when mentioning Muhammad. A number of students though said that no such attacks on religion had taken place.
Meanwhile, on June 16, a Misdemeanor Court in Nasr City convicted conservative Islamic preacher and TV channel owner Abu Islam (Ahmed Abdallah) of tearing up a Christian Bible in a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy last September and for saying on a TV program that 90% of the women protesters in Tahrir Square were Christians who came there "half naked" in order to get sexually harassed. According to Egypt Daily News, he was sentenced to 5 years for tearing the Bible, 3 years for insulting religion, and an additional 3 years for disturbing public peace. He was also fined EGP 3,000 ($425 US). Abu Islam's son was sentenced to 8 years in prison and a fine of EGP 2,000 for participating in the demonstration. The sentences will be suspended pending appeal.
