In defence of Egypt, not in triumph for Adel Imam

The Egyptian actor Adel Imam belongs to what is called in Egypt the “remnants.” I have more than one reason that makes me criminalise this man politically and morally, perhaps most notably is his shameful position during the Cast Lead war on the Gaza Strip and his sharp attack to the Palestinian people and their nationalistic and Islamist leaders. The “cartoon leader”, Adel Imam maintained absolute loyalty to the “dictator", Mubarak. Imam also never had positions supporting Egyptian freedom and rights, nor did he support the revolution that impressed the whole world for what it stood for in terms of bravery and prowess.  Despite all this, however, I stand by Imam's absolute right to express himself freely as a citizen and artist, particularly as an artist, which is a profession that dictates methods of free speech and expressionism. He however has done this in a way that implies clear offences to some of the extremist Islamic movements. However according to what I read and watched, I did not find that his works constitutes abuse against Islam or Muslims. This leads to a real problem facing us these days, which is the inability of some to distinguish between Islam and Muslims. Some in Egypt want to settle their scores with Mubarak-era politicians. They want to impose their own logic on everyone, set up their guillotines and gallows, and to hold “inquisitions”. Some also want all the Egyptians to follow their path. This cannot happen, and if it did it will not continue to happen.  Adel Imam’s case is everyone's case. It is an opinion and and a freedom of expression case. We should all face it, not out of love for Adel Imam, but in defence of our right and the rights of future generations against any oppressive waves. We know that this wave is launched from outside Egypt. However we do not know where it will take us, when it will begin to recede, as well as what the costs will be for us Egyptians and Arabs.  This is a wave of extreme decay, even if it came in the climax of the “Spring”. It is very dark and shallow, even if it came at the beginning of the 21st century. It is a only a counter-revolution, even if it came riding on the back of the glorious January revolution. It belongs to our most culturally and socially backward societies, even if it gained influence in the slums, owing to unemployment, poverty and hunger.  Those who reached the top of the political and social pyramid of Egyptian life through the gates of Tahrir Square did not show gratitude to Egyptian pluralism, which the revolution would not have happened without. Those who breathed freely after years and decades of living in cellars, prisons and caves, want to practice the role of their jailers, and put all of Egypt behind bars and under their black fatwas.  Those who were trampled by the boots of the army and whose backs were inflamed with the whips of the intelligence services, now want to trample the Egyptian people with their shoes and torture them. However the Egyptian people, who defeated  the dictatorship, will defeat totalitarianism as well.  The last thing they came up with is the story of the “farewell intercourse”. It is a story that is being circulated in Egypt these days, about a fatwa that might be transformed into law, which allows a husband to have sex with his deceased wife in the first six hours of death. What is the meaning of this? Who are those sick people looking to have intercourse with dead bodies? How do these people regard woman, love and sex? What is this logic that would let a man have intercourse with his dead wife? There can be no more degradation and platitudes.