Man in Sharqiya sentenced to 2 years prison for propagating Shia teachings

The manager of an unregistered nursery in Kafr Shakr, Sharqiya, was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for “insulting the Prophet’s companions” and “spreading Shia lies to children,” Reuters reported.

Mohamed Abu Shashiah was accused by locals of teaching their children about Shia beliefs and insulting the Prophet’s companions and his wives. He was also accused of receiving support from outside Egypt to propagate his beliefs.

Villagers filed a formal complaint against Shashiah, researcher on religious rights at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) Ishaq Ibrahim told Mada Masr.

He was convicted of insulting Islam and sentenced to two years in prison. Under Article 98 of Egypt’s Penal Code, insulting Abrahamic faiths and the propagation of atheism in words, writing or other means is punishable by sentences of up to five years in prison and/or fines of up to LE1,000.

Ibrahim also stated that the main judge on the case, Halal Abu Khadra, is known for handing out harsh sentences, adding that these types of lawsuits are common against religious minorities.

“I know a lot of cases in Upper Egypt; they take any behavior and say that it’s insulting Islam. It’s hard to say what happened in Sharqiya, I don’t know if this manager of a nursery taught children Shia values or not, but if he did, expressing his opinion is not a crime because he didn’t insult anything,” Ibrahim asserted.

Four Coptic teenagers were convicted in another recent case of insulting religion, after they released video footage that prosecutors claim insulted Islam. The teenagers were sentenced to five years in prison, leading them to go into self-imposed exile in Turkey and eventually to seek asylum in Switzerland in September.

“This is the problem with state authorities,” Ibrahim says. “They violate the rights of religious minorities, especially Shia, and use insulting Islam to abuse their rights.”

Shia minorities have always faced suspicion from the religious establishment in Egypt. Last year, Al-Azhar released a warning against Shia citizens attempting to spread their beliefs, claiming they represent a grand plan to control religion.