Writers and civil society activists in Egypt face a growing threat from “hesba” lawsuits, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) warned this week. 

Hesba (or hisba) cases are prosecutions instigated by individuals rather than the authorities. They are usually brought by religious elements against people who express ”un-Islamic” views, but sometimes also by supporters of the regime – as a way of harassing its opponents at arm’s length.

Hesba is a long-established (and originally honourable) principle in Islamic jurisprudence. In the words of Egyptian scholar Gamal al-Banna, it was “a construct used to promote the good and criticise the bad. Every individual in an Islamic society is responsible for the actions of the society.”

More recently, though, it has begun to have the opposite effect, stifling critical thought and debate, rather than encouraging it.
The trend began in 1995 when a group of Islamist lawyerssucceeded in divorcing Cairo university teacher Nasr Abu Zayd from his wife, on grounds of apostasy.

Since then, ANHRI says, there have been hundreds of hesba cases against writers and activists, brought by publicity-seekers and religious fanatics. It blames this on a “feeble reaction” from the Egyptian government and the willingness of courts – in violation of the law – to accept cases brought by people who have no direct interest: 

These primarily illegal cases are becoming a hovering threat over the heads of all intellectuals in Egypt. Instead of conducting a open, reasonable dialogue based on intellectuals’ opinions, hesba experts will rather start the legal chase and a chain of lawsuits.

The latest high-profile cases involve Nawal el-Saadawi, the writer, and Naguib Sawiris, the billionaire founder of Orascom. Sawiris, a Christian, is accused of “contempt for religion” after criticising 
Article 2 of the Egyptian constitution which says that “principles of Islamic law are the principal source of legislation”. The case has been brought by Nizar Ghorab, an Islamist lawyer who earlier this year secured a court ruling that ordered the government to block "venomous and vile" pornography on the internet.

The case against Saadawi, brought by a group of lawyers, also accuses her of contempt for religion, though ANHRI suspects the government is behind it. She recently formed an organisation called Egyptian Solidarity with Civil Society which, among other things, seeks to separate religion from the state.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 3 October 2009.