Why is it, I wonder, that cartoons are seen as such a threat in Arab countries? Following the recent cases in Tunisia andMorocco, an Egyptian cartoonist and his publisher have been fined for corrupting "public morals".

Last year, Magdy el-Shafee produced a book called Metro, which is thought to be the first graphic novel for adults in Arabic. It was seized by the Egyptian authorities and booksellers were not only ordered to remove it from their shelves but to delete it from their computer stock control systems too.

Writing on the Shaqiq blog, Jano Charbel explains:

Metro's story line revolves around a fictitious young Cairene software engineer named Shihab who lives in a society afflicted with the vices of poverty, political corruption, and socioeconomic injustice, all of which are touchy topics in Egypt. In this graphic novel Shihab and his friends decide to rob a bank in order to pay off debts incurred from an illicit loan-shark. 

The two most controversial drawings in this comic book depict a couple making love in bed (while concealed beneath the sheets,) and a half-naked woman. There are also a few curse words which are sparingly scattered in the pages, specifically “fag, whore, and pimp/bastard."

An extract from the novel, with speech bubbles translated into English, can be seen on the Words Without Borders website.

The case against Metro's creator and publisher dragged on in the courts for months, but last week the Qasr el-Nil Court of Misdemeanors fined both of them LE5,000 ($900) under Articles 178 and 198 of the Egyptian Penal Code forbid publications that "contravene public decency" and allow their confiscation. That may not quite be the end of it, because both say they intend to appeal.

There seems to be something about the cartoon/graphic form that the authorities find especially alarming. As Charbel notes, "There are numerous Arabic and foreign novels on Egypt's bookshelves which contain far more explicit language and imagery than that found in Metro."

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 28 November 2009.