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Malaysia deports Saudi
journalist accused of insulting
prophet
Hamza Kashgari fled to Malaysia after
calls for death penalty in response to
Twitter comment about Muhammad
The Saudi newspaper columnist Hamza
Kashgari has reportedly faced death threats
over Twitter comments about the prophet
Muhammad. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
Kate Hodal in Bangkok
The Guardian, Sun 12 Feb 2012 13.24 GMT
Malaysia has deported a Saudi
journalist accused of insulting the
prophet Muhammad on Twitter,
despite claims by human rights
groups that he could face the death
penalty if returned to his native
country.
Hamza Kashgari, 23, a newspaper
columnist, tweeted doubts about
Muhammad on the prophet's
birthday last weekend. After receiving
several death threats, Kashgari fled to
Malaysia on Tuesday. He was
detained at Kuala Lumpur airport
while trying to leave the country two
days later.
Malaysian police said Kashgari was
handed over to Saudi officials and
flown back on Sunday morning, with
flight arrangements handled by the
Saudi authorities. Malaysia and Saudi
Arabia do not share a formal
extradition treaty, but do have close
ties as fellow Muslim countries.
The Malaysian home minister,
Hishammuddin Hussein, said:
"Malaysia has a long-standing
arrangement by which individuals
wanted by one country are extradited
when detained by the other, and
[Kashgari] will be repatriated under
this agreement. The nature of the
charges against the individual in this
case are a matter for the Saudi
Arabian authorities."
Kashgari tweeted last week: "I have
loved things about you and I have
hated things about you and there is a
lot I don't understand about you. I
will not pray for you."
He quickly deleted the tweet and
apologised, but his comments
attracted more than 30,000 responses,
among them a number of death
threats that spread from Twitter to
YouTube and Facebook. Saudi clerics
called him an infidel and apostate,
and a Facebook page was set up
demanding his execution.
Apostasy – the abandonment or
renunciation of one's faith – is
considered a crime against God that is
punishable by death in Saudi Arabia,
according to Human Rights Watch.
Rights groups voiced concerns over
the fairness of any trial that Kashgari
may face in Saudi Arabia, and
denounced Malaysia's role in his
arrest.
"Saudi clerics have already made up
their mind that Kashgari is an
apostate who must face punishment,"
said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle
East researcher at Human Rights
Watch. "The Malaysian government
should not be complicit in sealing
Kashgari's fate by sending him back."
A lawyer for Kashgari called the
deportation unlawful and said his
counsel had not been informed that
he was to be sent back to Saudi
Arabia. His counsel had just received
a court order preventing his
deportation but was stopped by
authorities, the lawyer Fadiah Nadwa
Fikri told the Malaysian Star.
"When we tried to serve the order at
the Kuala Lumpur international
airport, an immigration officer there
confirmed that Kashgari had been
deported. This is in contempt of court
and a violation of human rights," Fikri
said, adding that Kashgari had been
denied access to his lawyers since his
arrest.
Kashgari said in an interview that he
was being made a "scapegoat for a
larger conflict" over his comments,
Reuters reported. Amnesty
International labelled Kashgari a
prisoner of conscience and called for
his release.
Two weeks ago Saudi Arabia's Grand
Mufti Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh called on
Muslims to avoid Twitter as it "invited
[people] to throw charges between
them, and to lie in a manner that
brings fame to some", the Jerusalem
Post reported.
Saudi Arabia has the third highest
number of Twitter users in the Arab
region, according to a social media
report by the Dubai School of
Government. However, those users
comprise 0.5% of the nation's overall
population of 27 million.
In January, California-based Twitter
said it would censor tweets in certain
countries , fuelling debate over
freedom of speech on the internet.
Thailand, where strict censorship
rules already apply, was the first
nation to publicly approve of Twitter's
decision .
In Malaysia, police have used Twitter
and other social media to try to warn
activists against rallying in support of
the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
In Indonesia, a government minister
announced last week that people
tweeting in violation of local law –
relating to pornography, gambling,
threats, fraud and blasphemy – could
face seven to 12 years in jail, the
Jakarta Globe reported.






How dares he to insult prophet Muhammmad peace be upon him.

They should not decide hasty judgement such as execution.
Its better to do da3wa, maybe he will make tawbah.

HutuKing01 wrote:They should not decide hasty judgement such as execution.
Its better to do da3wa, maybe he will make tawbah.

you are right for all we know he could be insane.

Insane people don't go on the run.

Chop off his focking head!

Hamza's mother blamed the people around him for "taking the wrong path."

"We are terribly shocked by what happened. This is a real tragedy," the mother told a Saudi radio. "I still cannot believe that my son will insult anyone and I blame those who sat with him," she said over the phone.

According to the mother, Hamza had performed Haj (pilgrimage) three times and was an avid reader of religious books.

"Lately, he started reading philosophy and psychology books and these might have influenced him," she said.

However, she insisted that her son "disrespected" the Prophet (PBUH), but did not insult him.

Narrating the events on the day Saudis discovered the tweets, the mother said that Hamza came home and hugged her while tears were rolling down his cheeks, requesting her to forgive him.

"He then went to his father and kissed him, imploring for his forgiveness and apologising for letting him down," she said, quoted by Saudi news website Saudi Now.

The mother said she had not had any sleep since the start of the drama last week.

"I am in a terrible state and I want to feel assured about my son. I demand a religious session for him now that he announced his repentance," she said.

http://www.albawaba.com/editorchoice/sa ... ing-412550

Blasphemy is a fundamental pillar of freedom of speech which is a fundamental pillar of human rights. Saudi Arabia is not a free or modern society so i cannot say I am surprised by their actions, but Malaysia masquerades as such and ought to be ashamed for handing this man over to the inquisition. If he is killed then he shall be considered a martyr in the name of free speech and mourned in liberal universities across the free world.

I am of the opinion they should make an example out of him

Hamza Kashgari, a young Saudi writer, caused a firestorm when he posted a series of tweets on the birthday of Prophet Mohammad last week. In his tweets, Kashgari imagined a conversation with the Prophet in which he said they are equal, and that although he admires many of the Prophet’s characteristics there are also others that he disliked

-http://saudijeans.org/

Hardly anything criminal.

Kill the mujrim!

Saudi users on Twitter erupted with outrage, posting nearly 30,000 tweets on the topic in less than 24 hours. Many people believed that he insulted the Prophet by addressing him and speaking about him like that. They accused Kashgari of blasphemy, atheism and apostasy. Many said he must be punished and some said he should be killed. Others even went as far as threatening to kill him or offer money for his head.

The outcry resulted in a full U-turn by Kashgary, who deleted the controversial tweets and published an apology saying he has sinned and that he has now repented. He explained that what he wrote earlier was “feelings I erred in describing and writing, and that I ask God for forgiveness, but they don’t really represent my belief in the Prophet.”

The apology was not enough for many people, especially the religious conservatives who demanded that Kashgari be tried in a Sharia court. One of these people is a cleric named Nasser al-Omar, who appeared in a YouTube video weeping because he said he could not bear to see the Prophet insulted.

Overreaction much? If I was the blogger I'd pack my bags and take the next flight to Denmark, publish a book and make millions of dollars. Having a fatwa on your head is the fastest way to get on the best sellers list

“These people [like Kashgari] should be put to trial in Sharia courts,” al-Omar said. “It is known that cursing God and his Prophet is apostasy. And the fact that he has repented with cold words will not probably save him in the court.”

Al-Omar and others insist that even if Kashgari has repented he should still be sentenced for apostasy, effectively calling for his death by sword. Al-Omar called on his followers to send telegraphs to the King, Crown Prince and the Grand Mufti to punish Kashgari.

unbelievable!

Poor guy...

union wrote:

Saudi users on Twitter erupted with outrage, posting nearly 30,000 tweets on the topic in less than 24 hours. Many people believed that he insulted the Prophet by addressing him and speaking about him like that. They accused Kashgari of blasphemy, atheism and apostasy. Many said he must be punished and some said he should be killed. Others even went as far as threatening to kill him or offer money for his head.

The outcry resulted in a full U-turn by Kashgary, who deleted the controversial tweets and published an apology saying he has sinned and that he has now repented. He explained that what he wrote earlier was “feelings I erred in describing and writing, and that I ask God for forgiveness, but they don’t really represent my belief in the Prophet.”

The apology was not enough for many people, especially the religious conservatives who demanded that Kashgari be tried in a Sharia court. One of these people is a cleric named Nasser al-Omar, who appeared in a YouTube video weeping because he said he could not bear to see the Prophet insulted.

Overreaction much? If I was the blogger I'd pack my bags and take the next flight to Denmark, publish a book and make millions of dollars. Having a fatwa on your head is the fastest way to get on the best sellers list

Keyboard warriors.

Incredible stuff....

This manufactured outrage is nothing but a plot by the wahabis to undermine and frighten liberal Saudi bloggers

While some may perceive religious conservatives defending the Prophet’s honor simply as piety, others say there is more behind it, that this is actually part of a long-term plan.

“This is not spontaneous,” a friend of Kashgari’s told me. “Hamza has had people marking him since the Marriott affair and before.”

There is a disturbing “bloodthirstiness” about the conservatives’ reaction, the friend said, adding that Hamza is “just the first in a list they’re targeting.”