Brotherhood’s MP Proposes Bill Incriminates Insulting Prophets, Religions

Brotherhood’s MP Proposes Bill Incriminates Insulting Prophets, Religions
On its coming session, the parliament will consider a motion proposed by the Muslim Brotherhood’s MP Akram el-Share to add a new article to the Panel Law that incriminates any defamatory act of religions and prophets, peace be upon them. The criminal courts will be competent to consider the crime even committed outside Egypt or by non-Egyptians.
 
The suggested article says” whoever attacks, scorns, insults, by words, drawings, gestures, or other ways stated in the article 171, a prophet or a messenger of a religion whose rituals are publicly practiced shall be punished by not less five-year imprisonment and not less 100.000-pound fine. The same penalty shall apply to whoever attacks, scorn, insults, by word, drawings, gestures, or other ways stated in article 171, in public or in a closed meeting, any religion whose rituals are practiced publicly. Any how, the Egyptian courts shall be competent to consider the aforesaid crimes even committed outside the Egyptian borders or by non Egyptians. No one but the Attorney General may be authorized to take legal action in respect of the aforementioned crimes.”
 
In the explanatory memo, el-Share said he introduced this bill in accordance with the second article of the Egyptian Penal Law that extends the jurisdiction of the Egyptian courts to some crimes that committed outside Egypt and with some European legislations that expand the jurisdiction of their judiciary to acts committed outside their borders such as anti-Semitism, denial of Holocaust and war crimes. The apathy of the international organizations to incriminate insulation of religions and prophets pushed el-Share to draft this bill.
 
In order to put the provisions of the introduced article in motion, the Brotherhood’s MP called on the parliament to send letters to the legislatures of Islamic states to conclude a treaty on extradition of convicted persons in aforementioned crimes.
 
He also suggested stiffening the penalty of the aforementioned crimes to come under felony not misdemeanor. For the penalty of felony expires after 20 years while that of misdemeanor drops after five years.