On Saturday, an Egyptian court postponed till October 12th the hearing on whether to ban the Islamist Labor party that was suspended two years ago for criticizing a ministry, a justice source said.
The supreme administrative court took the decision to postpone the case in order to allow a state commission investigating the party and its bi-weekly newspaper, Al-Shaab, to complete its report.
Until its suspension, the Islamist Labor Party was the only authorized Islamist group in the North African country of Egypt.
The Egyptian government suspended the party and its newspaper two years ago after Al-Shaab waged a vitriolic campaign against the culture ministry for reprinting a 1983 novel by Syrian novelist Haidar Haidar, according to AFP.
The paper labeled "The Banquet for Seaweed" as blasphemous, triggering riots at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, the capital of learning in Sunni Islam. The clashes left scores of students and policemen injured.
Al-Shaab stated the book described God as an unsuccessful artist and insulted the prophet Mohammed as well as the holy Koran.
The controversial novel concerns two aging Iraqi intellectuals in exile who blame stagnation throughout the Arab world on dictatorships and religious conservatives. (albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
