"I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you,”
"I will not pray for you." Hamza tweeted.
This is the controversial tweet posted by Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old Saudi blogger, which sparked outrage in last week with comments posted on the Prophet's birthday a week ago.
There are many calls from Saudis for punishing the blogger for his "highly despicable irresponsible behavior and his terribly outrageous attitudes."
On the Same Topic: - Death for Criticizing Prophet Muhammad? -Freedom of Expression and the Cartoon Crisis - Freedom of Expression from an Islamic Perspective - A Mercy for All (Special Coverage about Prophet Muhammad)
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Saudi scholars declared the blogger “apostate” and ordered his arrest over the blasphemous tweet.
Malaysia, where the blogger was staying, deported him to Saudi Arabia, where he faces the death penalty. The Malaysian home ministry defended its decision to deport the blogger, saying the charges against him would be decided by Saudi authorities, as reported by Onislam.net’s News desk.
Though the Saudi blogger has issued a statement in which he apologized for his remarks and announced his repentance, Saudi scholars will judge whether the blogger has repented from his insults against the Prophet.
Insulting the Prophet is considered blasphemous in Islam, which is a crime punishable by execution in Saudi Arabia.
Join the debate and post your view:
- If you were to judge Hamza’s case, what would be your stand?
- Do you think the blogger deserves execution? Why and why not?
- How do you generally define the freedom of expression?
