This Is All Kinds Of Wrong of the Day: Hamza Kashgari, a young writer for the Saudi daily newspaper Al Bilad who fled his homeland after being charged with offending Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, was seized upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and will be sent back to Saudi Arabia to face a possible death sentence.
Kashgari took to Twitter last week, prior to the anniversary of Muhammad’s birth, and wrote down a series of seemingly innocuous reflections.
“On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more,” the 23-year-old tweeted.
The response from tens of thousands of Saudis was immediate and unequivocal: Kashgari was a blasphemer and deserved to die.
He attempted to withdraw his comments and apologize — even beg — but the damage had been done. A short while later, King Abdullah personally ordered his arrest, and Kashgari became a fugitive.
He managed to escape Saudi Arabia, but didn’t get very far. “The Malaysian authorities are coordinating with Saudi Arabia to hand Kashgari over,” the Saudi newspaper Al Youm reported.
The country’s powerful Islamic Fatwa Committee has released a statement saying Kashgari must be punished in accordance with Islamic law. In other words: Execution.
[emirates247 / dailybeast.]