Mr. Fadl is hardly the only critic of the government to come under pressure. The government has filed criminal charges against intellectuals, like Emad Shahin and Amr Hamzawy, who have criticized the military takeover. And it has jailed journalists from news outlets that the government contends support the Islamist opposition, like Al Jazeera television. But Mr. Fadl, who is no friend to the Muslim Brotherhood, has a potent and credible voice: His writing is funny and accessible, and his criticism is far sharper than others in the Egyptian news media. Even his friend Bassem Youssef, a comedian celebrated in the West as Egypt’s Jon Stewart, is more circumspect in his criticism of the top military leaders. “Dancing over the corpses of adversaries does not build an advanced homeland,” Mr. Fadl wrote in January. “It creates a chicken coop for the sanctification of the victorious rooster.” Pro-military commentators call Mr. Fadl a “traitor,” part of a “fifth column” plotting to destroy the country, and call his trimmed beard evidence of hidden Islamist affiliations. Mr. Fadl “stabbed Egypt in the heart with his poisoned dagger,” wrote Dandrawi Al Hawari, a columnist for the newspaper Youm el-Saba.
Posted on: Fri, 02 May 2014 19:55:36 +0000
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