CAIRO - Egyptian prosecutors say they have referred to trial a Muslim self-styled preacher who tore up an English copy of the Bible during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo against a anti-Islam film produced in the U.S.
A prosecution official said Tuesday that Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah and his son have publicly shown contempt to religion. The charge is punishable by up to five years.
The official said a journalist who interviewed Abdullah afterward is also referred to trial. He spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Abdullah said what he did, caught on camera, did not qualify as contempt. He said his trial begins Sept. 30.
The film enraged many Muslims for its portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud and a womanizer.
