Join a dignified rally for the rights of jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem. Rallies are planned Stockholm, Oslo, Brussels, Prague, Berlin, London, Ottawa, Bucharest, Rome, New York, and more cities are hoped for. Check www.freekareem.org for more details.
Another Egyptian blogger has been arrested, and it would be good if people like yourself gave it some attention….
Heres the link – no html in comments?
http://tomgara.nomadlife.org/2007/04/what-if-they-arrested-blogger-and.aspx
Speech is speech and should be protected. Of course, some of us are less enthusiastic — even if we support the same freedoms for those who would oppress us — about the rights of those who would kill us, ie, Nazis and Islamist extremists. Plenty of Jews have supported freedom of speech for Nazis (the American Civil Liberty Union did just that, I believe, in a famous case), but don’t be surprised if they don’t eagerly run to the barricades for the people whose speech is designed to get support for killing them.
There’s a question of when speech turns into incitement to violence (as distinguished from incitement to disapproval). Just what did the blogger write? Did he organize or encourage people to organize to behead infidels? If so, expect little support from me. I like my head where it is, on my shoulders and not where the extremists put theirs.
Sorry I did not respond earlier, but I’ve been swamped with work and errands since getting back from North Africa yesterday. I agree that the case deserves attention and indeed it was discussed at the conference I attended in Morocco. My friends who have been active in the Free Kareem campaign have undertaken work on his behalf and have promoted awareness of his plight: http://www.freekareem.org/2007/04/18/another-egyptian-blogger-detained-abdul-monem/