Angry crowds have demanded the death penalty for a Sudanese newspaper editor over an article allegedly questioning the parentage of the Prophet Muhammad.
Hundreds of people waving banners and chanting "God is great" protested outside a court as Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed was charged over the article.

His Al Wifaq newspaper is being suspended for three days from Friday.

The crowds were closely monitored by riot police, who clashed with the protesters on Thursday.

'Misunderstanding'

"Oh judges of the Sudan, defend the honour of the Prophet," read one banner.

"The court must execute him - this is an insult not to any ordinary man - this is an insult to a prophet," one man said.

Freedom of the press stops when it comes to respect for religions

Ali Shumi
Sudan's Press Council
The protesters made speeches through loudspeakers and handed out statements, demanding that the authorities hand Mr Taha over so they could kill him.

Mr Taha is a prominent Islamist journalist and has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood political group.

He has not yet commented on the allegations against him but a journalist from his newspaper said it was a "big misunderstanding".

Those who renounce Islam face the death penalty in Sudan.

Ali Shumi, the head of Sudan's Press Council, said the article insulted the Prophet Muhammad.

He denied the charges were an assault on press freedom.

"Freedom of the press stops when it comes to respect for religions. Not just for Islam - if you said the same things about Jesus there would be the same punishment," he said.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum says that with more than 15 daily papers, Sudan professes to have press freedom but in practice a lot of self-censorship takes place and on occasion the heavy hand of the censor cuts out articles before they go to press.

Flexible

A truck-load of soldiers has been stationed outside the Al Wifaq offices down a narrow dusty side street in central Khartoum.

Al Wifaq journalist Hamed Abdul-Latif says that the newspaper did not write the article but reprinted a piece written by renowned Islamic historian Maqreezi.

Mr Taha wrote a commentary next to the piece, rejecting the historian's version of events, Mr Hamed says.

Khartoum has been governed by strict Islamic Sharia law since 1983 - but our correspondent says that in recent years courts have shown a degree of flexibility in their interpretations of Islamic law.

The introduction of Sharia exacerbated a rebellion that had begun in the south earlier that year. The war officially ended with a peace agreement in December.
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*Note to self, Do not insult Muhammad by Sudanese people*

Something about Islamic fanaticism is deeply against and afraid of freedom. Sad story, and it just goes to show how backwards some countries really are.

How pathetic. And people pick on Judeo-Christianity!?

Muhammed was no prophet. He was possessed and deranged. He admitted himself that these angels possessed him.

"Support our troops"? You yankees have really NO idea how the world works, do you...?
I draw an equal sign between Muslims and Christians. Fanaticism here or there, does it matter?

Edit: Enough with the namecalling; lighten up.

Whose a yankee?

And we are supposed to integrate with fanatics that behave like animals.

absolute rubbish, your talking b.s
if i was like you than i would insult david and jesus (r.i.p) but there prophets aswell and that would make me as low as that comment you've just made. so i will simply say your wrong.

Ah yes, those practitioners of the loving and peaceful religion of Islam just being their usual benevolent selves.

To quote Forest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does", and for my money, a religion is as the followers of that religon do. Simple as that.

arrggg religion claims another victim of so called truth, do people see what kind of violence religion creates? Peace and harmony what the hell is that?

I dated a woman from Iran once. She told me that if you, a citizen of Iran, did not believe in Islam you could be put to death.

So I have recently come to a conclusion. Maybe those people are not as dumb as they seem to be by believing in what Mohammed said.

But it only goes to show, that it is such an ignorant religion a person has to be threatened to be killed if they don't believe it to keep them believing it.

It just goes to show what happens when a government is run by a religion (any religion). Let us hope it doesn't go to that extreme here, but sometimes I see American starting down that Path. The 10 commandments on public property, a Judge deigning parents the right to teach their child their religion, because it is not mainstream (Wicca), Department of Education in Kansas refuting science and substituting religion. That is how it starts; the Sudanese government is an example of what you end up with. Face it if the Christian Right get their way that is just were we will be.