Saudi neo-Nazi, “Wahhabist Reich” challenged by Intellectuals demanding release of “free expression” prisoner, Turki al-Hamad

Saudi intellectuals petition for release of novelist who ‘insulted’ Islam
2 January, 2013 – Al Akhbar

Saudi intellectuals on Wednesday urged the kingdom’s crown prince to order the release of a liberal writer accused of insulting Islam via his Twitter account.

A petition, signed by around 500 people and addressed to Salman bin Abdul Aziz, called for Turki al-Hamad’s “immediate and unconditional release.”

“We hope for, demand and expect a quick decision to be made to correct this grave error that has been committed against” Hamad, it said.

It slammed his arrest as “unjust… condemned, reprehensible, shameful, and unacceptable.”

Hamad was arrested — on the orders of Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, who was tipped off by a religious organization, according to AFP — for alleged insults to Islam he made on Twitter, his family said on December 24.

One of the comments he posted had attacked radical Islamists he said were twisting the Prophet Mohammad’s “message of love,” and what he described as “a neo-Nazism which is on the rise in the Arab world — Islamic extremism”.

The Tweet that had caused the most uproar, according to Saudi media, said “just as the prophet had descended once to rectify the faith of Abraham, it was time for someone to come and right the prophet Muhammad’s religion.”

The post caused confusion about whether Hamad was criticizing the religion itself or only the way it is practiced. Saudi responses on Twitter ranged from accusing the outspoken novelist of “atheism” to agreeing with “the need for more a more righteous application of Sharia.”

Hamad is no stranger to controversy. In 2011, he caused a stir for criticizing a Minister of State Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahad, saying he did not know how to run the state.

More recently, in a tweet that was apparently interpreted as an insult to the ruling parties, he had tweeted: ‘While the rest of the world is busy debating Iran’s nuclear capacity, we’re busy with whether women can drive…”

The petition’s signatories included Manal al-Sherif and Najla Hariri, two female activists who defied the kingdom’s driving ban on women, and liberal columnist Ahmad Adnan. …more