Naguib Sawiris, Egypt's richest man and figurehead of the liberal movement for the country's political leadership, is to be put on trial for insulting religion over cartoons he put on Twitter showing Mickey and Minnie Mouse in traditional Muslim clothing.
The case against Mr Sawiris, owner of the Orascom business empire and the country's most prominent Christian, was filed originally by a group of lawyers affiliated to the radical Salafi Islamist movement. Few expected it to be taken up by the prosecuting authorities.
But the Salafis have become a powerful force in the new Egypt after sweeping to second place behind the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Freedom and Justice Party in elections. They are pushing for tighter implementation if not a rewriting of Egypt's constitution, which is supposed to be based on the principles of Sharia law.
Mr Sawiris, who is outspoken in defence of secular values and often accused of being provocative, "retweeted" a cartoon in June showing Minnie wearing a black face-veil and Mickey in the traditional robe and beard of a Salafi follower.
The Muslim Brotherhood also expressed outrage, but it was a call by the Salafis of a boycott of Mr Sawiris companies, which include Egypt's largest mobile phone operator, which gave the first indication of the strength of their following. Mr Sawiris apologised, but not before the phone operator lost hundreds of thousands of subscriptions.
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| Naguib Sawiris attends the Cannes Film Festival in 2010 Photo: REX |
But the Salafis have become a powerful force in the new Egypt after sweeping to second place behind the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Freedom and Justice Party in elections. They are pushing for tighter implementation if not a rewriting of Egypt's constitution, which is supposed to be based on the principles of Sharia law.
Mr Sawiris, who is outspoken in defence of secular values and often accused of being provocative, "retweeted" a cartoon in June showing Minnie wearing a black face-veil and Mickey in the traditional robe and beard of a Salafi follower.
The Muslim Brotherhood also expressed outrage, but it was a call by the Salafis of a boycott of Mr Sawiris companies, which include Egypt's largest mobile phone operator, which gave the first indication of the strength of their following. Mr Sawiris apologised, but not before the phone operator lost hundreds of thousands of subscriptions.
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