CAIRO (AP) _ A woman activist who posted nude pictures of herself on her blog to protest limits on free expression has triggered an uproar in Egypt, drawing condemnations from conservatives and liberals alike.

Some liberals feared that the posting by 20-year-old university student Aliaa Magda Elmahdy would taint them in the eyes of deeply conservative Egyptians ahead of Nov. 28 parliamentary elections in which they are trying to compete with fundamentalist Islamic parties.

Nudity is strongly frowned upon in Egyptian society, even as an art form. Elmahdy's posting is almost unheard of in a country where most women in the Muslim majority wear the headscarf and even those who don't rarely wear clothes exposing the arms or legs in public.

Elmahdy wrote on her blog that the photographs _ which show her standing wearing only stockings _ are ``screams against a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy.'' The blog has received 1.5 million hits since she posted the photos earlier this week.

The posting comes at a time when Egypt, a nation of some 85 million people, is polarized between Islamists and liberals ahead of the elections, the first since the February ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. Members of the most hardline Islamic movement in Egypt, the Salafis, have warned voters during their campaigns that liberals will corrupt Egypt's morals.

``This hurts the entire secular current in front of those calling themselves the people of virtue,'' Sayyed el-Qimni, a prominent self-described secular figure, said referring to Islamists.

``It's is a double disaster. Because I am liberal and I believe in the right of personal freedom, I can't interfere,'' el-Qimni said Wednesday night on one of Egypt's popular TV political talk shows, ``90 Minutes.''

The April 6 movement, one of the most prominent liberal activist groups that led the 18-day uprising against Mubarak, issued a statement denying claims by some on the Web that Elmahdy is a member of the group.

The posting prompted furious discussions on Internet social media sites, with pages for and against her put up on Facebook.

One activist, Ahmed Awadallah, praised her in a Tweet, writing, ``I'm totally taken back by her bravery.''

A supporter, who identified himself as Emad Nasr Zikri, wrote in a comment on Elmahdy's blog, ``We need to learn how to separate between nudity and sex.'' He said that before fundamentalist influence in Egypt, ``there were nude models in art school for students to draw.''

Some 100 people liked his comment, while thousands flooded the site with insults. Some denounced Elmahdy as a ``prostitute'' and ``mentally sick'' or urged police to arrest her.

Elmahdy did not reply to attempts by The Associated Press to contact her.

Her move comes as Salafis have become more assertive in pushing their attitude that women should be kept out of the public eye, promoting a Saudi Arabia-style segregation of the sexes. On Salafi parties' campaign banners, photos of the few female candidates are replaced by drawings of a flower.

During a recent election rally in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Salafists covered up a public statue that depicted mermaids. Salafi clerics appearing on TV talks shows have refused to appear face-to-face with female TV hosts, unless the presenter puts on a headscarf or in one case, a barrier was placed between the two. Most recently, an Islamist preacher crashed into a university musical concert in a Nile Delta province of Mansoura, saying music was forbidden by Islam and that he wanted to ``promote virtue and prevent vice'' _ the term used for the mission of Saudi Arabia's religious police.

Women rights activist Nehad Abou el-Qomsan said conservatives ``keep adding layers to cover up the women and deny their existence.''

But, she said, what Elmahdy did ``is also rejected because posing nude is a form of body abuse.''

Elmahdy and her boyfriend Kareem Amer, also a controversial blogger, have challenged Egypt's social strictures before. Earlier this year, they posted mobile phone video footage of themselves debating with managers of a public park who threw them out for public displays of affection.

Amer, who spent four years in prison for blog posting deemed insulting to Islam and for calling Mubarak a ``symbol of tyranny,'' chided liberals who condemned Elmahdy.

``I think we should not be afraid of those in power or Islamists, as much as we should be worried of politicians claiming to be liberal,'' he wrote on his Facebook page. ``They are ready to sacrifice us to avoid tarnishing their image.''

<한글 기사>

이집트 女운동가 `누드사진' 공개로 논란

이집트의 젊은 여성 운동가가 자신의 '누드 사진'을 블로그에 공개하면서 논란이 일고 있다.

특히 `4•6혁명세력'을 비롯해 타흐리르 광장에서 집회를 이끌었던 청년 단체들 은 오는 28일 총선을 앞두고 이슬람 보수 세력에게 악용될 가능성을 우려하고 있다고 중동 현지 일간 걸프뉴스가 18일 보도했다.

신문과 외신들에 따르면 20세의 여대생 알리아 알 마흐디는 이번주 초 '혁명의 회상'이라는 제목으로 스타킹만 신은 자신의 나체 사진을 올렸다.

이를 두고 인터넷에서는 뜨거운 찬반 논쟁이 시작됐으며 지금까지 그의 블로그 방문한 사람은 150만 명을 훌쩍 넘어선 것으로 알려졌다.

또 일각에서는 마흐디가 4•6혁명세력의 회원이라며 젊은 자유주의 세력에 대한 우려와 비난의 목소리도 나오고 있다.

4•6혁명세력은 성명을 통해 마흐디는 회원이 아니라며 자신들을 향한 비난의 목소리를 차단하고 나섰다.

성명은 또 이러한 비난이 "우리를 탄압하려는 구정권의 잔재"라고 주장했다.

4•6혁명세력은 또 마흐디가 스스로 4•6혁명세력의 회원이 아니라고 밝힌 페이 스북 화면을 캡처해 이메일로 뿌리기도 했다.

마흐디는 표현의 자유에 대한 억압에 저항하기 위해 사진을 올렸다고 설명했지만, 누드가 예술의 형태로도 금기시되는 이집트 사회에서는 전대미문의 사건이라고 AP 통신은 전했다.