[lbo-talk] Harassment of Nawaal El Saadawi

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

On 3/19/07, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> [From the SA Debate list, and example of religious activism at work.
> No link given for the petition, though.]
<snip>
> International campaign for freedom of thought and creativity and for
> solidarity with the Egyptian novelist and writer Nawal El Saadawi
>
> The Egyptian writer and novelist Nawal El Saadawi, well known both in
> the Arab world and internationally, is facing a political and
> religious campaign mounted against her by the authorities of Al-
> Azhar. Basing themselves on a play written by her entitled "God
> resigns at the Summit Meeting" published during the month of January
> 2007 in Cairo, they are accusing her of apostasy and disrespect for
> the principles of Islam.

The petition is on Saadawi's Web site (not the sort that collects
signatures online, though):
<http://www.nawalsaadawi.net/news/07/petition07.htm>.

How about some strategic thinking?  If you frame it as "Nawal El
Saadawi vs religion," you'll be pitting her against all religious
people, but if you frame it as "Nawal El Saadawi vs. 'the authorities
of Al-Azhar'," which is what the petition spells out, her allies can
multiply, and even some religious oppositions to Mubarak's regime may
come around in support of her, for Al-Azhar is very tight with
Mubarak, as the case of blogger Abdel Kareem Soliman for instance
shows.
-- 
Yoshie