Cartooning in Egypt
December 7, 2012
Egyptian cartoonist Amr Okasha reports he is working in difficult circumstances in Egypt:
Who can imagine this is the New Egypt that we made a revolution for! As a political cartoonist, I'm facing a much more tense and challenging time than during the Mubarak regime. Now, every time I publish a cartoon, I receive very insulting and offensive comments. Most of these are made by supporters of president Morsi and members of the Muslim brotherhood. They accuse me of being a liberal socialist infidel. They say my criticism of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood is criticism of the Islam. Islamist leaders and supporters call any critique on the regime an attack on religion.Recently, I have published a number of cartoons that seem to have made them mad. I received insulting messages via Facebook as well as in the comment section of my newspaper's website. Even more alarmingly, a photo of me was posted during a pro-Morsi demonstration last Saturday. My picture was posted along with other photos of public figures in the media; protesters chanted they wanted to get rid of these persons.
I'm going to continue to publish what I see and believe is the truth, but I want to admit that I'm worried too.
This slideshow features some of Amr's recent cartoons:
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