CARTOON BY: SERKAN SÜREK [CYPRUS ... - Yeni Akrep

(YENÝ AKREP) SAYFA - PAGE: 18 YIL - YEAR: 11 (OCAK - ÞUBAT 2013) SAYI - ISSUE: 114EGYPTIAN CARTOONIST DOAA EL ADL TARGETED BY THE SECRETARYGENERAL OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR DEFENSE OF FREEDOMS[www.cartoonistsrights.org] Lastweekend Salafist lawyer and the newSecretary General of the National Centerfor Defense of Freedoms, Khaled ElMasry filed a lawsuit againstbusinessman Naguib Sawiris, newspapereditor Yasser Rizk and cartoonist DoaaEl Adl. (Some reports indicate that thelawsuit was initiated on SaturdayDecember 22, 2012, while other reportsindicate that the lawsuit was initiated onSunday.) In the lawsuit, the SecretaryGeneral claims a cartoon, drawn by Doaaand published online by the newspaperAl-Masry Al-Toum, insults the Bible’sAdam, a prophet figure in the Muslimreligion. Shortly after the filing, AttorneyGeneral Talaat Abdallah ordered aninvestigation.Doaa Al Adl is a trailblazer. Doaa is thefirst female editorial cartoonist in the post-Mubarak Egypt to reach the top of thismale dominated profession. Yasser Rizkis the editor-in-chief of the independentnewspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm. NaguibSawiris is a Coptic Christianbusinessman. The Secretary General’slawsuit lists Naguib Sawiris as thepublisher of Al-Masry Al-Youm. At thistime, we cannot definitively confirm this.Media reports do however claim that Mr.Sawiris is a co-owner of the newspaper.Mr. Sawiris is a well-known opponent ofthe Islamists. An outspoken critic of theMuslim Brotherhood, Mr. Sawiris cofoundedthe Free Egyptians (Al-MasryeenAl-Ahrar), a political party that advocatesthe separation of church and state. Inearly January of this year, Sawiris wascharged with showing contempt forreligion for tweeting a cartoon of abearded Mickey Mouse and a veiledMinnie Mouse. The case was eventuallydismissed.Doaa’s cartoon that the SecretaryGeneral deemed insulting, features anEgyptian man with angel wings lecturingAdam and Eve. The three are on a cloudbeneath the infamous apple tree. Theman is telling Adam and Eve that theywould never have been expelled fromheaven if they had simply voted in favorof the draft constitution in the recentEgyptian referendum. Some of thesupporters of the referendum werequoted as saying a “yes vote” guaranteesone a spot in heaven, while a “no vote”guarantees one a spot in hell. NeitherAdam nor Eve in Doaa's cartoon isuttering a word. In short, the cartoon iscritical of Egyptians who have recentlypoliticized religion. It is not critical ofAdam and Eve.While Doaa Al Adl is the first Egyptiancartoonist to be charged with blasphemyunder the new regime, she was not theonly satirist charged this past weekend.Television satirist Bassem Youssef, thehost of the weekly show Al-Bernameg(The Programme), and his network, theCapital Broadcasting Center (CBC), werecharged with insulting President Morsi.The Programme’s show deemedoffensive featured Mr. Youssef holding apillow with a picture of President Morsisurrounded by hearts. Fans of The DailyShow with Jon Stewart may recall Mr.Youssef’s June 21, 2012, appearance onThe Daily Show.When asked for comment CartoonistsRight Network International's ExecutiveDirector Dr. Robert Russell said, "Doaais not the first cartoonist to report freespeech harassment in Egypt. It is ironicthat the person bringing charges in hercase is the head of the National Centerfor Defense of Freedoms under the newregime. Other cartoonists report beingtold that people who hold opinionscontrary to the Salafists are anti-Islamic.This is all consistent with efforts by certainIslamic parties and organizations (sincethe publication of the 12 Danish cartoonsin 2006) to change the United Nationshuman rights policies that currentlyprotect blasphemy, or insult to religion, asfree speech. In Egypt, the Salafists arequickly establishing the rule that anycriticism of the ruling party, of its seniorofficials, or of Islam in any way, will notbe protected free speech under the newconstitution. This may open a new era ofconfrontation between those new ArabSpring states adopting constitutionsdominated by Islamic law, and, the UnitedNations' Article 19, which protectsfreedom of speech and freedom ofexpression for the citizens of all signatorycountries. Apparently, in Egypt they likePharaohs on top of their pyramids."To read more about this attempt tosilence Egyptian cartoonist Doaa Al Adl,go to the December 25, 2012, Daily NewEgypt article Cartoonist sued by rightsNGO for overstepping freedom ofexpression, and, the December 25, 2012,Egyptian Chronicles blog entry And theturn is on Doaa El Adl now.