[4] In May 2007, Nabil wrote a blog post mentioning that he left Christianity, and that three priests had visited him at home, insulted him, and told him not to spread skepticism in religion among his community.

[4] Nabil describes himself on his blog as "Liberal, Secular, Capitalist, Feminist, Pro-Western, Pro-Peace, Atheist, Materialist, Realist, Pro-Globalist, Intactivist, Anti-militarist, Pacifist".

In his declaration of refusal of the military service in October 2010 he stated: "I'm not ready to carry an arm against an Israeli soldier, obligatorily recruited, who defends the right of his country to exist.

"[13] Later in December 2010, he wrote the article "Why I'm pro-Israel", which was republished later on Al-Tawassul, the Arabic-language official website of the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

In April 2012 Nabil travelled to Germany to study at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt.

In December 2012, he visited Israel and Palestine, and he wrote an article called "Let There Be Peace" and he gave public lectures at both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Universities.

Instead, he was arrested on 12 November 2010 by military police but was released the next day, and finally exempted from service on medical grounds.

He also was denied access to decent food and was forced to shower in dirty water and sleep on insect-laden bedding.

[19][20] A call for a demonstration protesting against Maikel Nabil's imprisonment was announced through social media to take place on 29 December at the Tahrir Square.

[24] "Human rights activist" David Keyes described Nabil as "utterly fearless: a staunch liberal in a deeply conservative society and a fierce critic of the military, an institution not known for its openness to alternative views.