Kareem sentenced to four years in prison

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt -- An Egyptian blogger was convicted Thursday and sentenced to four years in prison for insulting Islam, the Prophet Muhammad and Egypt's president, sending a chill through fellow Internet writers who fear a government crackdown.

Abdel Kareem Nabil, a 22-year-old former student at Egypt's Al-Azhar University, an Islamic institution, was a vocal secularist and sharp critic of conservative Muslims in his blog. He also lashed out often at Al-Azhar _ the most prominent religious center in Sunni Islam _ calling it "the university of terrorism" and accusing it of encouraging extremism.

His conviction brought a flood of condemnations from Amnesty International and other international and Egyptian rights group and stunned fellow bloggers.

The flood of condemnations did not include the Bush administration, however.

The Bush administration has not commented on Nabil's trial, despite its past criticism of the arrests of Egyptian rights activists.

Michelle Malkin is hearing crickets:

President Bush? Condi Rice? Promoters of democracy in the Middle East? Hello? Hello?

The silence from the Bush administration is deafening.  Considering the amount of U.S. aid money sent to Egypt each year, we should be demanding human rights reform.  Maybe since the Washington Post is reporting the story, President Bush will be forced to at least comment on it.   

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