Bible burning Egyptian cleric jailed

CAIRO (Reuters) - A Cairo court sentenced an Egyptian Muslim preacher to 11 years in jail for blasphemy on Sunday for burning a Bible during a protest last year outside the U.S. embassy.

Convictions for insulting Islam are common in Egypt, ruled by Islamists after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, but more rare for cases involving the minority Christian faith.

Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud, known as Abu Islam, who runs his own religious television channel, led a demonstration in September against a U.S.-made anti-Islam video posted on the Internet.

His son was sentenced to eight years in jail for the same offence. Both will remain at liberty pending appeal.

The video's depiction of the Prophet Mohammad as a fool and sexual deviant set off anti-American protests across the Muslim world.

The film was later attributed to a Californian born in Egypt's Coptic Christian community, a group that has expressed concern about the rise of Islamist political power.

I'm christian myself and I don't agree with the punishment, but they knew it was against the law so it's their own fault really.

You don't need to agree with it, since it's a Shariah offence. Things like that cause communities to build tension and hatred towards one another, causing some groups to feel isolated or outcast. And so, stuff like that which would come under "hate speech" would be stamped down upon.

You don't need to agree with it, since it's a Shariah offence. Things like that cause communities to build tension and hatred towards one another, causing some groups to feel isolated or outcast. And so, stuff like that which would come under "hate speech" would be stamped down upon.

You don't need to agree with it, since it's a Shariah offence. Things like that cause communities to build tension and hatred towards one another, causing some groups to feel isolated or outcast. And so, stuff like that which would come under "hate speech" would be stamped down upon.

You don't need to agree with it, since it's a Shariah offence. Things like that cause communities to build tension and hatred towards one another, causing some groups to feel isolated or outcast. And so, stuff like that which would come under "hate speech" would be stamped down upon.

Whilst I agree that the actions of this man were not in any way justifiable, 11 years is a bit over the top. In most Islamic countries, a man beating up his wife would probably be pardoned, but burning a religious book puts you in jail for 11 years. That's ridiculous imo.

P.S- I am a Muslim.