Lawsuit In Egypt Seeks To Rescind Prize Given To Controversial Writer

In Egypt, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have filed a lawsuit seeking to have the Ministry of Culture's State Award of Merit in Social Sciences withdrawn from author Sayed al-Qimni. Al Arabiya today reports that opponents object that: "His works deride Islam and he is skeptical about the message of Prophet Mohamed." Lawyer Nabih al-Wahsh who filed the suit has also called for impeachment of the Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni for approving the choice of Qimni. Previously a court ruled against attempts to ban Qimni's book Rab Haza al-Zaman (A God of this Age) by those who claimed it contained apostasy. Quimni has argued that Islam is a political system rather than a religion.