Men Jailed in Sudan for Selling Book on Mohammed's Child-Bride

(CNSNews.com) - A Sudanese court reportedly has sentenced two Egyptian men to six months' imprisonment for harming Islam after they marketed a book deemed critical of one of Mohammed's wives.

The men, who work for an Egyptian publishing house, were arrested at an international book fair in Khartoum while promoting a book on Aisha, who Muslim historians record as one of Mohammed's 12 wives and concubines.

According to an authoritative Hadith -- the traditions and sayings of Mohammed -- the middle-aged prophet's marriage to Aisha was consummated when the girl was nine years old. Often called "the mother of believers," she was said to have been the favorite wife of Mohammed, who died when she was 18.

The Egyptians, Abdel-Fattah Abdel-Raouf and Mahrous Mohammad Abdel-Aziz, were sentenced Sunday after being convicted under a section of the Sudanese penal code that deals with insulting religious beliefs or inciting hatred and contempt for religion.

Under the same section, a British teacher in Khartoum last month faced the possibility of jail time and lashes for allowing her young students to name a class teddy bear "Mohammed." Gillian Gibbons eventually was sentenced to 15 days' imprisonment and, after appeals by British Muslim lawmakers, was pardoned and released early this month.

Eleven Mideast human rights groups signed a statement in Cairo condemning the latest verdict and sentence.

They cited eyewitnesses as saying the agents who arrested the two Egyptians had been accompanied by members of a Wahhabist fundamentalist group, one of whom apparently bought a copy of the book and then complained to the authorities.

In the statement, released through the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, the groups said the trial was speedy and unfair, since the defendants reportedly did not have legal representation

They called on the Sudanese government to release the two men, saying the case was a violation of freedom of opinion and expression, and a violation of the right to a fair trial.

After their arrest last week, Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardhi was quoted as saying the book contained blasphemous passages regarding Mohammed and "the mother of believers."

According to the human rights groups, the book was written by a Syrian author.

See also:
Sudan Charges Teacher Over Teddy Bear 'Blasphemy' (Nov. 28, 2007)

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