Middle East News
Christian student jailed in Egypt for anti-Islam images on Facebook
Dec 31, 2011, 16:38 GMT
Cairo - Egyptian prosecutors Saturday ordered a Christian student be kept in custody for four days for posting images lampooning the Prophet Mohammed on his Facebook page, reported state television.
Jamal Masoud, a secondary school student in the southern Egyptian province of Assiut, faces charges of contempt for Islam, the report said.
He told investigators the images had been posted on his Facebook page without his knowledge, it said.
Security and military troops have been deployed across Masoud's village and neighbouring areas after angry Muslims torched houses belonging to Christians, said the broadcaster.
Tensions between Egypt's Muslim majority and Christians are not uncommon. In April, 14 Muslims and Christians were killed in clashes in Cairo's working-class area of Imbaba.
Christians make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's population of 80 million.
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