Liberal Saudi writer detained for tweets on Islam
Author: Nehal El-Sherif
Riyadh (dpa) - Liberal Saudi Arabian writer Turki al-Hamad was detained on Monday for interrogation following his tweets on Islam, the local al-Jazirah newspaper reported online.
Al-Hamad recently posted a series of comments on Twitter that some have described as offensive to prophet Mohammed.
"Our Prophet has come to rectify the faith of Abraham, and now is a time when we need someone to rectify the faith of Mohammed," al-Hamad wrote.
He also wrote: "A new Nazism is appearing on the Arab World called Islamism, but the age of Nazism is long gone, and the sun will shine again."
Al-Hamad criticized Saudi Arabia, where women do not have the right to drive. "The world is busy with Iran's nuclear abilities and we are busy with women driving cars ... Shame," he wrote.
Al-Hamad has been criticized for his liberal views several times before in the conservative oil-rich kingdom. In 2006, former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden said al-Hamad was one of the Arab "freethinkers" who should be killed.
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Riyadh (dpa) - Liberal Saudi Arabian writer Turki al-Hamad was detained on Monday for interrogation following his tweets on Islam, the local al-Jazirah newspaper reported online.
Al-Hamad recently posted a series of comments on Twitter that some have described as offensive to prophet Mohammed.
"Our Prophet has come to rectify the faith of Abraham, and now is a time when we need someone to rectify the faith of Mohammed," al-Hamad wrote.
He also wrote: "A new Nazism is appearing on the Arab World called Islamism, but the age of Nazism is long gone, and the sun will shine again."
Al-Hamad criticized Saudi Arabia, where women do not have the right to drive. "The world is busy with Iran's nuclear abilities and we are busy with women driving cars ... Shame," he wrote.
Al-Hamad has been criticized for his liberal views several times before in the conservative oil-rich kingdom. In 2006, former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden said al-Hamad was one of the Arab "freethinkers" who should be killed.
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
