KUALA LAMPUR: Malaysian police Friday said they had detained a young Saudi journalist who fled his country after Twitter comments he made about the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) triggered calls for his execution.
Hamza Kashgari was taken into custody after flying into Malaysia's main international airport on Thursday, police spokesman Ramli Yoosuf told AFP.
"Kashgari was detained at the airport upon arrival following a request made to us by Interpol after the Saudi authorities applied for it," he said.
The state news agency Bernama said the 23-year-old Kashgari had been detained by Muslim-majority Malaysia "for allegedly insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh)".
AFP could not immediately confirm where the 23-year-old Kashgari flew in from and officials in Interpol's office in Malaysia could not immediately be reached for comment.
As fellow Muslim countries, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have close ties but do not have a formal extradition treaty.
However, an official with the Malaysian home ministry who asked to remain unidentified said Kashgari could be extradited under other bilateral security agreements.
Malaysia has in the past summarily deported people it considers undesirable.
Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, a spokeswoman for Malaysian activist group Lawyers for Liberty, said Kashgari was a blogger who had decried the "oppression of women".
"This is again a violation of freedom of expression. He has every right of making comments and so on without being persecuted," she told AFP.
"Malaysia should give asylum to him. But instead they are conspiring with the Saudi government. It's abhorrent."
Kashgari's controversial tweet sparked some 30,000 responses, according to an online service that tracks Twitter postings in the Arab world.
Insulting Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) is considered blasphemous in Islam and is a crime punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
Kashgari has apologised but that has not stemmed calls for his head.
A committee of top clerics branded him "an "infidel" and demanded he be tried in an Islamic court, while a Facebook page entitled "The Saudi people demand Hamza Kashgari's execution" has attracted thousands of followers.
The incident has shone a spotlight on the use of freewheeling social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook in deeply conservative Saudi Arabia.
Top Saudi cleric Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh has called Twitter "a great danger not suitable for Muslims" and "a platform for spreading lies and making accusations".
But millions of Saudis, including many government officials, have created Twitter and Facebook accounts.
COMMENTS (48)
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@Anon: So the common decency is to be respectful towards all religions and not purposely try to provoke reactions. Is that too much to ask? what if someone humbly and respectfullly, begs to disagree with one of your main principles or personalities You will kill him won't you?
Bertrand Russell wrote a book called "Why I am not a christian" in which he clearly wrote that he did not think Jesus was the noblest or the wisest man on earth and christianity as a religion had done more harm than good to humankind. This did not endanger christianity, he did not get executed ,rather guess what, he went on to win the Nobel prize, was given the knighthood and to this day is remembered as Lord Russell in christian countries. Whilst christianity has continued to flourish and prosper.
The act of this generalist is condemnable. No doubt. and he should be punished. But what comes to my mind is about such a strict religious attitude which obviously goes beyond the human values, why is so aggressive in islam. How come a few statements or words by maveriks can affect the teachings, values and the respect for the Prophet (pbuh)!! is our religion so fragile that if such dreaded laws are not in place it will disperse...I mean imagine if you are a muslim you can not emberass any other religion and it is discouraged not by moral teaching or logic but by severe punishment. Does it not complell one to think that it is compulsion to the muslim to talk good about Islam, praise it, revere it for the sake of their own lives!!!! is it the fear at the root of one's religious beliefs and if so then must be the pity as they have no spiritual choice but to live with where have I borne.....just by chance...will one day it not act as a spark and the religion will vanish for ever!!! may be found laughable but has happened to the great religions in the past as well!!! So far I have come across the teachings of Islam, especially the sufism; I firmly believe that the path of moral teachings and human values, which islam stands for is potent enough to keep poeple believing in it. Only thing, it has not been given a chance.
Blasphemy, for all it's worth is a VICTIM-LESS Crime. Religious Feelings are hurt, yeah right, hoe painful can that be? painful enough to kill someone? More painful than loosing someone from a terrorist/jihadist suicide bomber...
So much noise, and the result is just nothing
And isn't it wonderful that no cleric said that "the guy has lost the path,lets forgive him and bring him back on the right path" but immediately they are ready to kill him!
Fear of reasoning and the fragility of their faith.
It's so hypocritical that these peoples say that they are "tolerant" of others and they want "peace" in this world. And then the same people punish a person for such a simple act(which is not even a crime!)
I have read his tweets and you can also read it on his page on wikipedia and there is no such thing...they are just his own views,if you don't agree with him then no problem simply go your own way....but punishment?
How can a society be "peaceful" and progress when there is no space for your own personal opinions? How can such a society produce scientists,poets and intellectuals?
This type of society is doomed to becomes relics of a rotten past and taking with itself its followers.
Next one in chop chop square!
Aliciastrong text
I'm assuming his words will not be allowed to be reproduced here so.....
He expressed doubt, confusion ambivalence about some of teachings of Mohammed, it was a actually a very human statement, and not insulting as far as I can see.
I understand he's now on his way back to KSA, where he will presumably be beheaded in public.
@Anon.:
This is our typical mentality. If a women don't wear Burka and if she get raped, then it's because she showed some skin.
This is completely hypocrisy. We say our religion is religion of peace but our action says otherwise.
Allah gave us brain to think and not to just follow.
All those who support blasphemy laws are doing blasphemy themselves because they are belittling the glory of God by saying a human with a few words can infuriate the almighty God. Do you think if someone says a few bad words against God, it will reduce God’s glorr? Instead of acknowledging the ignorance of the person and leaving judgement to God, muslim countries created blasphemy laws and gave the rest of the world another reason to degrade Islam.
What did the guy actually say? If he said something against women not being able to drive or not going out of their house then how is it blasphemy?
I for one read the tweets in question. They did not seem purposefully insulting to me. His statement was agnostic not rejectionist
@all those whining If you dont establish certain limits than people start abusing their freedoms. The degeneration of etiquettes is thanks to the West that has always drummed the mantra of freedom on each and everything no matter how vile or offensive. They have always abused their church, created filthy caricatures and debasement of their Christian symbols and every now and then purposely debase Muslims figures and symbols too. Certain things should be strictly off limits and people's religions should be protected realms, otherwise people go to extreme and purposely abusive extent such as: the case of the pastor trying to burn our Holy Book, or the other incidents of burning of the Holy Book in Afghanistan and Guantanamo by American soldiers. Tell me what use comes out of such uncivilised animal like behaviour and do we want to turn into them by allowing such freedoms??? The problem is not the law, it's how certain people deliberately set out to provoke and incite trouble. Such debasement and violations are so offensive to most Muslims on a cellular and personal level that there is ALWAYS an angry backlash regardless of which sect they are from.
Shame opn malaysia
@umer! we dnt need respect at the cost of our religious values. Had Hazrat Umar gone on his knees to conquer half of the world? come on, read ur history.No one will respect your religion untill u do it yourself.
@Anon: Understand that respect is earned, not demanded. There are hate laws against overt racism in some countries because your race is not something you choose for yourself; whereas religious, political, and social views are open to criticism (and ridicule) because you have a choice in what views you adopt. Would you respect the beliefs of someone who thinks that the earth is flat and that the sun revolves around the earth, or someone who adamantly believes in unicorns? Where do you draw the line to restrict freedom of speech. I imagine that you have eaten cow meat previously. Do you realize that some hindus consider cow to be their deity and; how then would you feel if hindu extremists started giving you death threats for blaspheming their god? Umer has raised some very good points and I hope you will spend some time pondering them. Hate and irrational actions over supposedly blasphemous remarks is not the mark of an intellectually grown-up person, and this mentality should have been shed centuries ago.
@umer That still doesn't make sense. Law or not anyone who insults the sanctity of the Prophet is asking for trouble and there will be anger and reaction regardless of law or not. Do you want freedom of expression like France where they issue abusive caricatures every now and then? If there is a law against racist abuse all over the world, anti-semite comments in Europe are a crime then blasphemy law ESPECIALLY in regards of the honor of the Prophet is must. What they blogger said was actually not even misinterpretation he was in the most OBVIOUS manner way out of line, guy asked for trouble. You should stop trying to defend the indefensible. It's people like him who create problems, by trying to push the limits. There is absolute no excuse in the Saudi blogger's case.
@Dr ajmal:
That is exactly whey respect for Muslims and Islam is decreasing in the world and there is a reaction against everything Islamic in the world. You can not kill your way to respect, the sooner you realise that the better. Fanaticism has only harmed Muslims and Islam; it hasn’t earned any respect for the two. Show us one person in the world who has started to respect Islam more after blaspheme law. On the contrary there are now more insults all over the world every day. Many people of the world now feel they have an obligation to do so to show that they can not be bullied by the tyranny of the Islamic Mullahs. These are the hard fact like it or not; the insults will increase the more brutality you demonstrate. You can not make 5 billion non-Muslims of this world hostage, who also give you aid and technology btw which you shamelessly accept.
@Anon:
This happens quite regularly against Christians, Shias, Ahmadis, Hindus and others in Pakistan. How many have been punished so far? This is just one sided bullying by the Mullahs. This law must be abolished otherwise criticisms will continue.
@Anon wrote: It’s like someone insulting my mum to my face and expecting me to not slap them in return or be upset in anyway because it’s their right to do that. In that case it’s not me who is blood thirsty but the other person willfully look for trouble. So the common decency is to be respectful towards all religions and not purposely try to provoke reactions. Is that too much to ask?
Did the HolyProhet (SAW) react and respond with violence when the people of Taif threw trash at him and stoned him? The answer is NO. Then who gives you the authority to pass a judgement of murder in the name of Rahmatullilalammen? Step out of your cocoon of fake piety and learn what the sunnah of the mercy for mankind was all about.
The duty of Muslims is to try to walk in the foot steps of the Holy Prophet. The Holy prophet was a pinnacle of tolerance and peace and that is why his message restored humanity in the dead souls and dark minds of bigots, hypocrites, and tyrants.
Learn not to judge and be quick in forgiving so that you can expect God to judge you with mercy and forgive you on the day of judgement.
News from Malaysia on the blasphemy "Hamza was reported to have made posting that insulted Islam via social networking site Twitter, causing outrage in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi media said Hamza made posting on Prophet Muhammad's birthday celebration last week, implying that he was interacting with the prophet, as if they were of equal status.
Hamza also said that he liked some characteristics of the prophet while others were not to his liking."....
Does this in any way warrant killing ? ...Can any of you certify for this act, ISLAM says to kill ? . Please read Quran and confirm and I need to understand what Muslim community is all about.
@anon, its too much to ask .You are asking for murdering a person for uttering some insulting words in twitter ..Even if you say punishment is slap or few beating it is fine..But Killing is totally un acceptable..One thing you dont understand or dont want to understand or ignoring is the fact that you are creating anger on your community and in today's globalized world it will impact you as a individual in a foreign country or with un familiar neighbhourhood.Did I say the anger will also will be in the form of more abuses in internet which you/your community can avoid by ignoring it and the blasphemer has no value .
@sars How about tolerance from the liberals who if they are not themselves religious should show tolerance to the beliefs of others and refrain from attacking religious symbols and figures every now and then.It's the liberals who liek to push the limits.
@dr ajmal how about no tolerance for those inciting and committing violence instead. Surely that would fit in better with the Prophets (PBUH) teachings?
Will "Death to America" slogans in the streets of Pakistan and Iran be considered as Blasphemy?
This guy should have fled to America, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Denmark, or UK. He was hoping his Muslim brothers in Malaysia who did not have extradition treaty with S. Arabia would give him asylum.
From Frying pan to the fire.
@Dr ajmal: Absolutely. Zero tolerance as far as the fundamentals of Islam are concerned. Love & highest degree of respect for the Holy Prophet (Sallalaho Alaihi Wassallam) is part of a Muslim's faith (Iman). Love for the Holy Prophet (Sallalho Alaihi Wassallam) has to be more than own parents & children, if not, then no Iman & not a Muslim. Simple as that.
@Dr Ajmal, Why kill a human being for words he uttered in twitter and not against any Staunch muslim in his face. Why killing is so easy for muslims and have no concience of life being pulled away unnecessarily?
@asdf: U wnt hv said so if u had some respect for Islamic values. Hazrat abu bakar had declared jihad against those who had refused to pay zakat. As a Muslim I brlieve in zero tolerance about fundamentals of Islam, and thats what our faith demands. And it has nothing to do with my education or profession. I think many of us must review our faith.
@Dr Ajmal Amazing views. Bravo. Way to go. What an amazing ideology. Respect. Just beautiful. Mashallah. Wow. Superbly said. Awe inspiring. And you are a Dr by any chance? What education. Excellent. Speechless.
I dnt think there shd be any compromise as far as fundamentals of Islam are concerned. The so called freedom of expression shd not be used as a means to conduct blasphemy. He must be punished as per lslamic laws, otherwise it will open a way for everyone to do such things.
@Colonel: Instead of blaming liberals for everything, why don't you condemn the theocratic bullying and open calls for murder? Do you understand the kind of impression Muslim moderates give when they chose to remain silent and let the extremists do the shouting?
@Colonel:
Can you blame them?
Why would Interpol get involved with such nonsense?
@MAD: That is: Forgive him. God loves those who forgive.
Kashgari is not a murderer nor a looter of state money. Comments made by some one somewhere should not be reason to order death. Malaysia also getting rotten with these religious law and prosecutions. Clerics are not scholars but psychopaths. Alas, Islam is so weak that it has to be saved by killing the people.
The Grand Muftis and the scholars said the same about the Loud speaker, TV, Telephone, Mobile Phones and now Twitter & FB. Its time to come out of the Stone age, Islam is a modern religion and such technological advances pose no threat to this great religion. Personally, I consider being so ultra conservative and neolithic, a blasphemy.
Now liberals will start bashing Islam
Do what the prophet himself would have decreed in this case.
I thought Twitter was partly owned by a Saudi prince? No wonder they could trace Kashgari at the speed of a button.