Two Egyptian lawyers had filed a lawsuit against the government aimed at halting broadcast of a Shia channel currently carried by Egypt's Nilesat satellite station on the pretext that the channel attacks sacred Sunni symbols, judicial sources said on Sunday.
The sources said the two Islamist lawyers, Tarek Abu Bakr and Nizar Ghorab, had filed their suit against the Minister of Information and the chairman of Nilesat calling for the Fadak channel, which regulalrly broadcasts a program presented by Kuwaiti Shia preacher Yasser Habib, to be blocked. In the lawsuit, the lawyers accuse Habib of insulting Prophet Mohammed's wife, Lady Aisha, and the Islamic Caliphs, according to the source.
Earlier this month, Kuwait officially revoked Habib's citizenship after accusing the 31-year-old of having "offended Sunni Muslims." In 2004, Habib was sentenced to ten years in prison by a Kuwaiti court for having made "offensive comments" about the first and second Islamic Caliphs, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Omar ibn al-Khattab.
Tensions have mounted recently between some Gulf State governments and their Shia minority populations, particularly in Kuwait and Bahrain, which some observers have attributed to apprehensions regarding Iran's nuclear energy program.
The Egyptian Ministry of Information was not available for comment on the issue.
