The two are still in Tora, and won’t be released before tomorrow…
MABROUK! MABROUK!
Euphoria is sweeping across the activists’ circles. My mobile is getting flooded by SMSs about Sharqawi’s release. I spoke with several Kefaya activists and rights lawyers over the phone, and I could hardly hear what they were saying as they were shouting and screaming cheerfully. At least two broke down in tears of disbelief while speaking as they had almost lost hope in seeing the two young men free soon.
Let’s hope Sharqawi’s and Sha3er’s release will go through quickly and that they will be freed tomorrow, without facing the same treatment 3alaa got on his release.
I want to thank every Arabist reader who expressed his/her support and solidarity with Sharqawi, Sha3er and the rest of the pro-democracy detainees.
There are still hundreds of MB detainees, like Dr. Essam el-Erian, languishing in Tora, following their arrest in pro-democracy demos, just like Sharqawi and Sha3er. I hope their release will come soon…
Hamd’allah the Kefaya activsts were finally ALL released. They paid their due and then some for encouraging democracy in Egypt and I hope their efforts pay off. These were very brave people whom I’m proud to call fellow Egyptians. Here’s to hoping for a civil secular democracy one day in Egypt.
As for the Ikhwan, I hope they throw away the keys.
Salaam.
Egypeter, you don’t do any favours to the secular democratic cause by advocating the same kind of intolerance and repressiveness in its name that many secularists accuse Islamists of. As the arrests in the last few months should have taught us, if a regime can throw its political opponents into jail with impunity, what’s to stop it from turning on people like you and secular activists tomorrow?
Egypeter,
I’m glad most of the people here are more fundamentally decent human beings than you are, hypocrite.
Egypeter has been spewing his hatred of his own people for weeks on this blog now. So OK, you’re Christian and don’t like Islamists. Not a lot of the people on this blog like them either. But — and maybe if you lived in Egypt you’d understand — most so-called “liberals” (the fake ones) have exactly your attitude and have been the backbone of this regime which you say you hate. The Islamists, on the other hands, have fought alongside the real liberals, taking to the streets to defend the judges, and payed the price for wanting freedom. Maybe they just want to take over, but in the meantime their actions speak louder than words. the hope has to be that you can moderate them, not that you can put them in jail and throw away the key.
Dude, that’s my point!! You CANNOT moderate the Ikhwan. They were and always will be radical extremists You will never “moderate them”, that concept makes me laugh. Who’s gonna “moderate” radical groups? How silly. The Ikhwan are counter to everything I hope for for Egypt. I don’t care how “progressive” they may try and make themselves appear they still have a nefarious agenda for Egypt and I will exclaim it till the day I die.
That’s great that they hate the Muburak regime. Everyone hates the damn Muburak regime. But what’s going to happen when Muburak is gone?? What kind of way forward do you think the Ikhwan have?? Like Iran? Like Somalia? Saudi Arabia? Saudi Arabia is my guess since it’s their brand of Wahabi Islam that is spreading through Egypt right now thanks to all those migrant workers that came back from Saudi in the 70’s and 80’s. Is that what you want?
And listen Issander, just because I don’t live in Egypt don’t try and use that against me, ok? I’ve got enough family and friends to know exactly what’s going on in my country. And don’t you ever dare questioning my love and loyalty for my country, got it?
You said:
“Egypeter has been spewing his hatred of his own people for weeks on this blog now. So OK, you’re Christian and don’t like Islamists”
Spewing hatred?? What hatred?? I told you I love Egypt. The only hatred I have is for fundemental Islamist groups like Hamas, Hizb-allah and El IKHWAN who are trying to force Shariah down my throat? Well..you better freakin’ believe it Issander! I hate those groups with every fiber of my being!!! But it has nothing to do with me being a Christian, friend. It has everything to do with the fact that I am an advocate of democracy, freedom and peace and all the rights that come with a functioning CIVIL democracy…but not because I’m a Christian.
You really should try and hang out with Sandmonkey and Big Pharaoh a little more…maybe YOU will stop “spewing hatred”