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Islamists Press Blasphemy Cases in a New Egypt
(New York Times) Ben Hubbard and Mayy El Sheikh - Egypt's prosecutors have been flooded with blasphemy complaints since 2011 as Islamists exercising their new societal clout have pushed for prosecutions and courts have handed down steep fines and prison terms for insulting religion. This month alone, a Christian teacher in Luxor was fined $14,000 for insulting the Prophet Muhammad in class, a writer was given five years in prison for promoting atheism, and a Christian lawyer was sentenced to one year for insulting Islam - in a private conversation. The campaign is driven at the local level, where religious activists have also forced officials to suspend teachers and professors.