When this name is uttered among Muslims, it is always followed by the phrase ṣalla Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam ("may God's blessings and peace be upon him"), just as, whenever Muslims mention the name of other prophets such as Abraham, Moses, or Jesus, they recite the words ʿalayhi al-salām ("upon him be [God's] peace").
Prominent activists Yara Sallam and Sanaa Seif are among those pardoned, according to MENA.
As Hesham Sallam, one of the editors of Jadaliyya, argued, "regardless of how much violence each 'side' has committed," last week's fighting was "instigated by a deliberate, conscious decision by Muslim Brotherhood leaders to escalate the conflict with its adversaries".
I devoted all my time to practicing Islam and incorporating the best values of the prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
Within days, Sallam found herself in the dock facing baseless and trumped-up charges of "displaying force" and vandalism, in addition to participating in an unauthorised protest.
Sallam is by no means alone in suffering injustice at the hands of a state determined to crack down on independent NGOs, clear the streets and universities of protest, lock up thousands with a blatant disregard for due process rights and give carte blanche to security forces to kill and torture with impunity.
But in unjustly locking up Sallam, a human rights defender, authorities are trampling not just on her rights, but also on the rights of countless victims of violations she has dedicated her life to protect despite the risks.
The fact that not a single shred of evidence exists linking Sallam to any violence has not stopped the prosecution from indicting her, or the judge from rejecting requests to end her unjustifiable pre-trial detention.
Such promises ring hollow as long as Sallam and thousands of others find themselves arbitrarily locked up, at the mercy of a judiciary that routinely denies victims the protection of the law, while allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
It is in this frustrating context that the verdict in the case of Yara Sallam, of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), approaches.
