Video - German-Egyptian Scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad Analyzes the Psychology of the Prophet Muhammad.

In one of a series of online lectures, German-Egyptian scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad analyzes the personality of the Prophet Muhammad, whose biography, he says, is "held captive in a prison of unwarranted over-sanctification and glorification." Abdel-Samad, who suggests that "there can be no reform or cleansing of the [Islamic] heritage until we rid Muhammad and the Quran of this sanctity," describes the Prophet Muhammad as a human being who was driven by human motivations and urges. "Did he have marital problems? Psychological problems? Some illness? We don't know," says Abdel-Samad, suggesting that Muhammad's revelations reflect "the psychology of a sick and rejected man, an outcast." The lecture was posted on the Internet on June 24, 2015.

Video - Egyptian Intellectuals on the Plight of Liberals in Egypt: There Can be No Progress without Blasphemy.

Video - Egyptian Intellectuals on the Plight of Liberals in Egypt: There Can be No Progress without Blasphemy. (Memri).

In a recent TV debate, Egyptian intellectuals discussed the plight of liberalism in Egypt. Khaled Muntaser, criticizing Egypt's law against blasphemy, said that "there would have been no progress in the world without the so-called blasphemy," bringing Galileo and Darwin as examples. Maher Samuel made a plea for using one's mind and questioning one's beliefs, saying that "the quest for truth is a moral duty" and that "if it is proven that faith cannot prevail against scientific research, it is not worthy of my belief." He criticized the educational system that has "destroyed the mind" and turned it into "fertile ground for superstition." The debate aired on Egypt's TV channel 1 on February 8, 2016