‘Anonymous’ take up Kashgari cause as arrest kicks off debate in Muslim world
A comment “flashmob” has flooded the Facebook pages of several newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, in support of Hamza Kashgari, the Saudi blogger who is being held in a Saudi prison after tweeting about the Prophet Muhammed. (My posts on this matter here, here and here).
“Dear journalists, dear media representatives! Instead of wasting your time on spreading intentionally wrong informations about Anonymous, you should use your journalistic abilities in order to inform about Hamza Kashgari! I’m aware of the fact that people are approaching you, who call us “enemies of democracy”. What we do, we do to protect democracy. The unbearable violation of human rights in the case of Hamza Kashgari has to be heard around the world. The representatives of the media are an important part und consider themselves -that’s what I hope - as a supporter of everyone that’s speaking out against that injustice. With a correctly oriented report you’re not only able to inform many people in your country but you can also -together with us- fight for the release of Hamza Kashgari. Free Hamza Kashgari! We are Anonymous. We are millions. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us!
Meanwhile, Kashgari’s arrest has started a tentative debate in the Muslim world. Starting with Malaysian Muslim organizations protesting the extra-procedural extradition , to the recent creation of an online discussion page at al-Jazeera.
Overall, the momentum seems to be building in both the mainstream media as well as the various, more amorphous online communities to raise the Kashgari issue to a level where it can receive attention from the US State Department and the various members of the EU. Meanwhile, the strong desire to behead Kashgari so overwhelms Saudi Sheikh Nasser bin Sleiman al Omar that he breaks down in tears while pleading to the King for Kashgari’s execution. As an aside, Sheikh al Omar is the same gentleman who, in a 2005 interview with PBS, was characterized as having opposed the rewriting of Saudi religious textbooks to eliminate anti-Western, anti-Jewish teachings, and was a co-signer of an anti-American fatwa.
So, we are now standing by, hoping for pressure to be exerted by the various governments in support of the basic, fundamental human right of freedom of expression. Here’s hoping.