Another Egyptian Newspaper Reprints the Cartoons laid to Waste

Muslim Brotherhood or Ikhwan members of Parliament are asking for the punishment of another Egyptian daily newspaper that re-printed the cartoons. However, immediately before the 40,000 copies could find their way to the local market with Prophet Muhammed cartoons, they were withdrawn and gone in waste.

The state-owned paper Al Akhbar tried to reprint the cartoons a week ago.

The Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Hamdy Hassan on February 14 during the People’s Assembly morning session, asked for punishing the paper. The paper’s editor-in-chief and board said they were not aware of the re-printing of the cartoons, however once they were informed the paper was withdrawn from the markets.

The reason why the member is asking for punishment is what he believes that the paper is intentionally is in defiance to the feelings of the Muslims by insisting on publishing the insulting cartoons, so it is not only the Danish paper. The second reason, he mentioned is tha printing 40,000 copies then executing them is a waste of the public money. The conclusion of the session was that the Higher Council of the Press in Egypt will conduct an investigation into the issuance of the 40, 000 copies with the insulting cartoons.

To add insult to injury, the Parliament’s Speaker condemned Al Akhbar’s reprinting of the cartoons and referred the issue to the parliament’s cultural, religious and media committees to report to him on Al Akhbar’s bad deed.

Minister of legal and parliaments affairs Mofeed Shehab said that the government does not accept any foreign or Egyptian papers' attempts to insult the prophet and that the government shares the Parliament’s condemnation to Al Akhbar news paper.

Apparently, the Muslim Brotherhood and the secular government of Egypt’s stances concur. The Egyptian Speaker involves the Committee of religion with culture of media. Who will win? Of course the committee of Religion in all cases. If the Committee of religion says that God said so and so, who can say anything after God?

The government-owned paper which is supposed to represent the secular government admits editorial mistakes for letting the paper to the markets without informing the editor in chief. Though Al Akhbar is not one of my favorite papers as it blindly follows the regime’s agenda, the Muslim brotherhood together with government officials and the Speaker secured a punishment for a failed attempt to published the cartoons for the second time in Egypt.