Egypt jails Christian convert for ‘insulting Islam’

CAIRO, Egypt — A former Muslim sheikh jailed in Egypt for 18 months has declared from his prison cell that he is under arrest for “insulting Islam” by becoming a Christian. Egypt’s secret police transferred Bahaa el-Din Ahmed Hussein el-Akkad, 57, to the Wadi el-Natroun Prison in September. He was told he would remain there indefinitely unless he agreed to work as a government informer against other converts to Christianity. When courts ordered el-Akkad’s release from provisional detention in early August, State Security Investigation authorities deliberately ignored the ruling.