Blaspheming Islam 'a crime'
2006-05-10 21:58
Cairo - Egypt's prosecutor general, Maher Abdul Wahid, has ordered two men to stand trial on charges of blaspheming Islam.
Abdul Sabur al-Kashef, 62, an employee with an institute affiliated with the prestigious Al-Azhar, and Mohammed Radwan, a graduate of Azhar University, will be tried by a low-level criminal court, said an Egyptian court official on Wednesday.
According to the charge sheet, Kashef is being prosecuted for claiming to have seen God, a sacrilegious act in Islam.
He and Radwan are also being prosecuted for denying widely-held beliefs about judgment day.
The pair denied the existence of heaven and hell, said the Egyptian official.
They said people lived in heaven or hell depending on their circumstances on earth, and they apparently showed reverence for Satan.
The two are accused of urging people not to pray - one of the five pillars of Islam.
According to the charge sheet, they also promoted immorality, including sex outside marriage and with close relatives, which Islam forbids.
Kashef is also accused of giving misleading interpretations of the Koran and the Hadith, or sayings of the prophet.
He is also charged with encouraging followers to disregard other pillars of Islam, such as fasting and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
No date has been set for the trial. If convicted, the pair face up to five years in prison.