Bahaa el-Din Ahmed Hussein el-Akkad
Encyclopedia
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
. For more than 20 years, el-Akkad was a member of the fundamentalist Islamic group Da'wa el Tabligh, which actively proselytized non-Muslims but strictly opposed violence. He also led a mosque community in Al-Haram, in the Giza area adjacent to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. In 1994, he published, Islam: the Religion, a 500-page book reviewing the traditional beliefs and dogmas of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. He later became disillusioned with Islam and began to question certain Islamic tenets. A theological discourse with a Christian led him to conduct an intensive study of Christian Scripture, after which he converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in January 2005.
On April 6, 2005, el-Akkad was arrested by the State Security Intelligence
State Security Intelligence
The Egyptian State Security Investigations Service was the highest national investigating authority in Egypt. Estimated to employ 100,000 people, the SSI was the main security apparatus of Egypt's Ministry of Interior and had the role of controlling opposition groups, both armed groups and those...
(SSI) on suspicion of blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
against Islam. He was accused of “insulting a heavenly religion,” a misdemeanor under Article 98-F of the Egyptian penal code. Although his release by a court in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
on July 30, 2006 was issued, the SSI deliberately ignored this decision and transferred el-Akkad to the maximum security Wadi el-Natroun Prison, where the majority of Egyptian Islamists sentenced for anti-government activities are incarcerated. He was finally released from prison on April 28, 2007, after having been held without charges for two years.
See also
- Human rights in EgyptHuman rights in EgyptThe state of human rights in Egypt remains poor due to repressive government policies and brutal government crackdowns.-Rights and liberties ratings:...
- Egyptian identification card controversyEgyptian identification card controversyThe Egyptian identification card controversy is a series of events, beginning in the 1990s, that created a de facto state of disenfranchisement for Egyptian Bahá'ís, atheists, agnostics, and other Egyptians who did not identify themselves as Muslim, Christian, or Jewish on government identity...
- Mohammed HegazyMohammed HegazyMohammed Hegazy is the first Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity to seek official recognition of his conversion from the Egyptian Government.-Biography:Hegazy grew up in Port Said on the Suez Canal in Egypt...