Holland’s Former Anti-Islam Politician Receives Warm Welcome in Saudi Arabia

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Arnoud van Doorn, former member of the anti-Islamist Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ party and personal friend of his, has declared last month his conversion to Islam.

European media reported that Doorn, who was a member of Wilders’ right-wing Freedom Party until the end of 2011 and helped produce the anti-Islam film “Fitna,” said that he had made a fresh start by announcing on Twitter his decision to embrace Islam and took the Shahadah (Declaration of Faith).

Following his decision to become Muslim, Doorn was hosted in Saudi Arabia this week where he visited the holy city of Mecca and performed Umrah. He later headed to Medina to visit the Prophet’s Mosque. During his visit, Doorn met the imams of the Prophet’s Mosque as well as Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques, who reportedly gave Doorn an English translation of Quran. According to Islam Memo site, the visit was co-sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Interior.

While many in Saudi Arabia were happy for this turn of events, some people raised questions about the selective application of the principle of forgiveness by society and authorities. The Dutch politician Doorn has been welcomed to Islam’s holiest sites at the same time when the government continues to detain citizens like Hamza Kashgari and Turki al-Hamad for allegedly insulting Islam and the Prophet.

Okaz columnist Khalaf al-Harbi did not mention Kashgari or al-Hamad by name in his Tuesday column, but he said what they have done pales in comparison to Doorn’s insults to Islam. “Just like Doorn, they have repented on Twitter but nobody cared about it and some even used it against them while Doorn’s conversion to Islam is being openly celebrated,” al-Harbi said. “So what is the difference between the two cases?”

Prominent Saudi liberal writer Turki al-Hamad was arrested last December after he posted a series of controversial tweets about Islam. Hamza Kashgari, a young Saudi writer, was arrested in February 2012 after he also published some controversial tweets about Prophet Mohammed. Both writers remain in prison despite appeals to the authority to release them.

Friends of Hamza Kashgari called for his release on Twitter today. “Some people’s understanding of the concept of mercy seems limited to Europeans and those of higher social status,” Khaled Yeslam said. “Jailing Hamza and embracing the Dutch politician is the biggest insult to the Prophet, Islam and God.”

Saudi Activists Petition Crown Prince to Release Al-Hamad

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A group of activists have published a petition calling for the release of detained writer Turki al-Hamad. The petition, directed to Saudi Crown Prince Salman, was signed by 437 people since it was posted online Sunday. The first signature belongs to famous Arab poet Adunis, followed by writer Ahmed Adnan and activist Manal al-Sharif.

“The unjust detention of Dr. Al Hamad is unworthy of him and unworthy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the petition said. “Thus it is condemned, reprehensible, shameful and unacceptable.”

Al-Hamad was arrested on December 24 based on orders from Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif after receiving a complaint from an Islamic organization who objected to a series of tweets by al-Hamad in which he criticized Islamists. A political analyst and novelist, he was previously denounced by clerics in Saudi Arabia for his novels. They issued several fatwas against him.

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy that applies a strict interpretation of Islam. Criticism of religion is rarely tolerated by the authorities. Young writer Hamza Kashgari was arrested last February after he published controversial tweets about Prophet Mohammed.

The petition described the Crown Prince as “a friend to journalists and intellectuals” and asked him to act quickly on the case of al-Hamad who remains in detention but was allowed to be visited by his family.

“We hope, demand and expect a quick decision to be made to correct this grave error that has been committed against Dr. Al Hamad.” the petition said. “This wrong should be righted by his immediate and unconditional release.”

Islamic Organization Tipped Off Al-Hamad

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A complaint from the Global Commission for Introducing the Messenger was what prompted the Saudi Interior Minister to order the arrest of liberal writer Turki al-Hamad, an official with the Commission said Thursday. The writer was arrested Monday after he posted a series of controversial tweets about Islam.

“Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif has been contacted and made aware of what happened and the expressions used by the writer,” Khaled al-Shaya, assistant general-secretary of the Commission told CNN Arabic. The step was taken after consulting the Grand Mufti who agreed that filing a complaint with the Interior Minister was the right course of action, al-Shaya said.

The Riyadh-based Global Commission for Introducing the Messenger is an independent affiliate of the Muslim World League, an international non-governmental organization founded in Mecca in 1962. The Commission was established as a response to the controversy following the publishing of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

On its website, the Commission lists a number of objectives and functions including “observing campaigns negatively targeting the personality of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and responding thereto with lawful means.”

Saudi novelist and political analyst Turki al-Hamad has published a series of tweets last Saturday criticizing Islamists. In one of his tweets, al-Hamad controversially stated that “Our Prophet had come to rectify the faith of Abraham, and now is a time when we need someone to rectify the faith of Mohammed.”

For the Commission, this “was not an expression of opinion but rather a clear insult,” al-Shaya told CNN. He added that they could not initiative legal action in similar cases like the “Innocence of Islam” film due to practical reasons. They acted in the case of al-Hamad because he is a Saudi citizen based in Saudi Arabia, he said.

Al-Hamad remains in detention since Monday but his family was allowed to visit him, according to activist Waleed Abu al-Khair.

This is not the first time that Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy that applies a strict interpretation of Islam, arrested persons for allegedly insulting the prophet or religion. Earlier this year, young writer Hamza Kashgari was arrested after he published controversial tweets about Prophet Mohammed.

Photo: Mohammed bin Naif Launches a Website

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In this photo distributed by the Saudi Press Agency, Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif is seen launching a website for the alumni of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences in Riyadh. Prince Mohammed bin Naif has reportedly ordered the arrest of liberal writer Turki al-Hamad yesterday after he published some tweets criticizing Islamists.

Prominent Saudi Writer Arrested After Controversial Tweets

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Saudi authorities have arrested writer Turki al-Hamad today based on orders from Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif, according to Al Arabiya’s correspondent Khaled al-Matrafi. Local news site Sabq also reported the news, citing unnamed sources.

Al-Hamad, a political analyst and novelist, has published a series of controversial tweets Saturday criticizing Islamists who, he said, “have distracted us with nonsense that we forgot the important issues.” In his next tweet he likened Islamism to Nazism. “But the age of Nazism is long gone,” he said, “and the sun will rise again.”

However, the tweet that seemed to have caused the strongest reaction from conservatives on Twitter came earlier that day. In that tweet he said: “Our Prophet had come to rectify the faith of Abraham, and now is a time when we need someone to rectify the faith of Mohammed.”

Turki al-Hamad is not new to controversy. The writer, who was jailed in his youth for political activism before moving to the US for graduate school, was previously denounced by clerics in Saudi Arabia for his novels. They issued several fatwas against him, and he told the BBC in 2003 that he has received several death threats.

This is also not the first time al-Hamad causes controversy on Twitter. In December 2011, he published a series of scathing tweets criticizing Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahad, a Minister of State who has previously served as Chief of the Royal Court.

“Sir, you don’t know anything about anything, but you are running a state,” al-Hamad told the Prince. “Thanks to your policies, we are heading to a disaster.”

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy that applies a strict interpretation of Islam. Criticism of religion or the royal family is rarely tolerated. Hamza Kashgari, a young Saudi writer, was arrested in February after he published some controversial tweets about Prophet Mohammed and he remains in prison.

 

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