Egyptian Television Satirist Bassem Youssef in Trouble With Islamists
There’s no love lost between the Islamist government of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, and his critics in the media.
The latest proof of that is an official investigation launched this week against a popular Egyptian television satirist.
Bassem Youssef allegedly insulted President Morsi on his TV show, “Al Bernameg.”
The program is modeled after Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.
And Youssef was actually a guest on The Daily Show last June.
But Youssef could be in serious trouble with the Egyptian government at this point.
On his program, Youssef was seen sweet-talking and hugging a red furry pillow carrying President Morsi’s image, while mocking his speech style.
An Islamist lawyer claims Youssef has insulted the president and undermined his authority by mocking him in such a public way.
Correspondent Noel King is in Cairo and has been following the story.
King said this is another example of the cultural stalemate that has been going on for a couple of months between outspoken media personalities and supporters of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
Watch a segment of Bassem Youssef’s show starring himself (with captions).
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.