9 and 10 year Old Coptic Christian Boys Arrested In Egypt for Allegedly Urinating On Quran...Update: Boys Released from Custody

The Islamic Nazi Spring marches on

CAIRO (AP) -- Two Coptic Christian boys have been put in juvenile detention after locals accused them of urinating on pages of the Islamic holy book, an Islamic cleric and prosecutors said Wednesday, in the latest in a series of legal cases in Egypt against alleged contempt of religion.

 Accusations of insulting Islam have increased in Egypt - particularly against Christians - since last month's fury over an anti-Islam film produced in the United States. Such cases occurred in the past, but the flurry to prosecute in recent weeks has raised concerns over freedom of speech and over the power of ultraconservative Islamists in the country.

 The new case is a rare instance of minors being accused. The boys, ages 9 and 10, were detained Tuesday in a southern town, to be held for 15 days while prosecutors investigate the accusations.

 There have been 17 cases of alleged contempt of religion filed since the January 2011 revolution, including at least five in recent weeks, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.

 A female Coptic teacher in another southern town was also summoned for interrogation last week and detained for a night after her students accused her of speaking offensively of the Prophet Muhammad in class. The teacher was released from detention, but prosecutors are still investigating her, human rights activists said.

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Update Oct. 4:

CAIRO (AP) -- An Egyptian security official says authorities have ordered the release of two Coptic Christian boys taken into in juvenile detention for allegedly urinating on the Quran, but they will remain under investigation. 

 Security chief Gen. Attiya Mazrou in Beni Suef province south of Cairo says the boys, ages 9 and 10, were taken Thursday to a police station to await their parents.

 A local radical cleric had publicized the alleged defiling. Rights groups say the incident showcases Islamist intimidation of Copts, estimated at 8 to 10 percent of the population.