On Tuesday, an Egyptian court dismissed lawsuit brought by an Media mogul Naguib Sawiris enraged Muslim hard-liners in June by posting the cartoon on his Twitter account. The picture was a parody about the growing influence of Islamists in Egypt following Mubarak's ouster. After the cartoon sparked an uproar, Sawiris tweeted an apology and removed the post. He tweeted, "I apologize for those who don't take this as a joke; I just thought it was a funny picture; no disrespect meant. I am sorry."
Salafis began an online campaign in June calling on Egyptian Muslims to boycott Sawiris' mobile phone company, Mobinil. Shares of Mobinil and Orascom Telecom, founded by Sawiris, briefly fell on the Egyptian stock exchange that same month.
Lawyer Mamdouh Ismail, who filed the complaint against Sawiris, is a memeber of the Salafi Al-Nour party that won 25% of elected seats in both houses of parliament.
Following Mubarak's ouster, Sawiris helped found a political party that advocates a secular state. It is part of a liberal coalition in the newly elected parliament, which won just 9% of the seats in the more powerful of the two houses.
Earlier this month, one of the Arab world's most famous Egyptian comedians was sentenced to three months in jail for offending Islam in his films. Adel Imam, who has appeared in many films and ten plays in a career that spans nearly 50 years, has the right to appeal.