Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Saudi Journalist Deported and Faces Likely Death Over "Blasphemous" Tweets

Last month, the New York Times reported that a Saudi journalist named Hamza Kashgari has been deported to Saudi Arabia to face trial and a likely death sentence over allegedly blasphemous tweets. Kashgari was detained en route to New Zealand by Malaysian authorities at the Kuala Lampur airport at the request of the Saudi government. According to the article, another media outlet called The Daily Beast reported that Kashgari tweeted about an imaginary conversation with the Prophet Muhammad, including one post which stated: "On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you’ve always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you."

Thank you to Religion Clause Blog for bringing this story to my attention.

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