For those who cheered the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, perhaps it’s time for some context. Under the Mubarak regime, and before that, the Sadat regime, an Egyptian comedian named Adel Imam has spent his career making jokes about his country’s leaders. Now, he has been sentenced to jail time for insulting Islam.

Via Reuters:

Imam, who has frequently poked fun at authorities and politicians of all colors during a 40-year career, has one month to appeal the sentence and will remain out of jail until the appeal process is concluded.

The sentence Wednesday evening came weeks after Islamists swept most seats in a parliamentary election. The case was brought by Asran Mansour, a lawyer with ties to Islamist groups, and had languished in court for months, judicial sources said.

Mansour accused the actor of offending Islam and its symbols, including beards and the Jilbab, a loose-fitting garment worn by some Muslims, the Egyptian news portal Ahramonline reported.

Among films and plays targeted by the lawyer were the movie “Morgan Ahmed Morgan” and the play “Al-Zaeem” (“The Leader”), the report said.

Imam was also handed a fine of 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($170) in absentia, the court document showed. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Perhaps comedians like Bill Maher should be a bit more appreciative of the Christian / capitalist / free society that they live in.

Once again, however, the mainstream media that championed the ‘Arab Spring’ and the fall of Mubarak is conspicuously silent in the face of an Islamic tyranny it helped to facilitate all across the Middle East.