Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old columnist, sparked outrage in the oil-rich kingdom with comments posted on the Prophet's birthday a week ago that led some Islamic clerics to call for him to face the death penalty.
Kashgari fled the country, but was arrested by police in majority-Muslim Malaysia on Thursday as he transited through Kuala Lumpur international airport.
Note EU-Digest: the Wall Street Journal reported: "A 23-year-old Saudi columnist fled the country, his associates said Wednesday, after his tweets on the human nature of the Prophet Muhammad led prominent clerics and thousands of their followers to use Twitter, YouTube, email and fax to demand the writer's execution.
The speed, number and intensity of messages calling for the death of the writer, Hamza Kashgari, stunned many Saudis. One tweet offered 10,000 riyals ($2,666) to Mr. Kashgari's killer. Another posted an image of Mr. Kashgari's house taken off Google Earth. "Dead man walking!" another jeered. Saudi newspapers reported King Abdullah had ordered the arrest of Mr. Kashgari and an investigation for possible blasphemy, though the reports couldn't be confirmed. The Saudi information minister said via Twitter that Mr. Kashgari would be banned from writing for newspapers or magazines.
Mr. Kashgari had been a columnist for the Jeddah-based al-Bilad daily. He had drawn the attention of Saudi conservatives before, when he appeared—in shorts, rather than robes worn by most Saudi men here—in photographs of a hotel convention attended by women with their hair uncovered. Mr. Kashgari couldn't be reached to comment
Clerics dominate the list of most-followed tweeters in the kingdom. Religious conservatives in the past have responded suspiciously to new media, only to learn to harness it effectively to draw followers and spread their messages, via chat rooms, YouTube and other means."
Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh last month urged Muslims to avoid Twitter, calling it "full of lies", while an Australian man convicted of committing blasphemy while visiting Saudi Arabia was released from prison last month after being lashed 75 times."
For more: Hamza Kashgari Reportedly Sent Back To Saudi Arabia To Face Possible Execution For Tweets
Mr. Kashgari had been a columnist for the Jeddah-based al-Bilad daily. He had drawn the attention of Saudi conservatives before, when he appeared—in shorts, rather than robes worn by most Saudi men here—in photographs of a hotel convention attended by women with their hair uncovered. Mr. Kashgari couldn't be reached to comment
Clerics dominate the list of most-followed tweeters in the kingdom. Religious conservatives in the past have responded suspiciously to new media, only to learn to harness it effectively to draw followers and spread their messages, via chat rooms, YouTube and other means."
Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh last month urged Muslims to avoid Twitter, calling it "full of lies", while an Australian man convicted of committing blasphemy while visiting Saudi Arabia was released from prison last month after being lashed 75 times."
For more: Hamza Kashgari Reportedly Sent Back To Saudi Arabia To Face Possible Execution For Tweets
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