I just can't stop posting about this story because it's just so interesting to me. Everyone's reaction to Hamza Kashgari's tweets was so explosive that it's literally being recorded everywhere. There are petitions to have him killed, petitions to spare his life. Over the course of a few tweets, Kashgari's life was literally turned upside down. I've found videos on youtube - unfortunately they're entirely in Arabic - explaining how good a guy Kashgari is. From what I've gather from these videos, there are enough people out in Saudi Arabia willing to risk slandering their government for this guy.
Pretty intense.
And now for the real update.
For a few years now, the overwhelming census is that social media is a good thing. It connected people during the Egyptian uprisings and helped organize the 2009 Tehran demonstrators (class reference! we just finished watching "Our Summer in Tehran" and "A Death in Tehran." both are very interesting and show two very different sides to Iran. check them out!). But here, with Hamza Kashgari, it's very obvious that social media is being used for "bad." As I've mentioned in other posts, almost immediately after his tweets about the Prophet Muhammad were posted, there was an onslaught of horrible, hateful responses.
Here's a video about one of the more negative responses to Kashgari's tweets (subtitled this time):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9kAVlnGMTU
There are so many online petitons calling for his death that it's impossible to keep up. As you can hopefully see in the attached video, people are outraged and devastated over Kashgari's actions. They are actually moved to tears.
Differently, oppositely, I can't really think of an appropriate transistion, ANYWAY, from Kashgari's immediate arrest, groups declaring his innocence and demanding his freedom. A facebook group created in response - the "Save Hamza Kashgari" group - already has 8000 likes and is still climbing. As great as the negative response was, there is an equally strong force that doesn't agree with the way this situation is being handled.
Hussein Ibish, one of the most respected secular Arab scholars and a Senior Research Fellow at the Washington-based American Task Force on Palestine, said that he believed "Kashgari won't be executed due to the mounting public pressure on the authorities." However, even if this is the case, he will still remain in jail for a while, much longer than his crime requires.
One thing that is very clear after learning more about Kashgari's case? Reppressive governments will and are able to use social media to their own advantages, be it good or bad. More comparisons with China? They're so repressive that there's no way anyone could even tweet anything even remotely offensive about ANYONE. And in America, tweets like these happen. People freak out, but I have yet to see anything even near this extent.
Again, we see how disproportionate everyone's reactions are to this scenario. There are thousands of people calling for his death, and another thousand of people calling for his release. The responses to his tweets is amazing. And disturbing. I've found so many blogs and tweets and videos about Kashgari it's actually insane. There are petitions connecting people in Saudi Arabia to people here in the U.S. Despite the awfulness of the whole ordeal, the amount of different social medias being used to either worsen or help the situation is kinda awesome. Youtube, twitter, facebook, etc. All are being used because of this one guy. I'm still thinking that in this case censorship might've been a good thing. Hamza Kashgari wouldn't be in jail if it had been in place.
Just a little something to chew on.
Although I'm fairly certain Saudi Arabia will start monitoring the posts a little more closely now.
This is Leslie, signing off for the night. Another post will be coming at you later this week!
@see_you_sLATER
please, comment and link to our blog! send us any sources you may find about Hamza Kashgari, censorship, or the middle east! we'd love to read about it!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Another Sad Update on Hamza Kashgari
Hamza Kashgari filed a habeas corpus application claiming that his arrest and subsequent deportation were unlawful. The judge, Datuk Rohana Yusuf, rejected the application on the grounds that "he was no longer in the country."
Part of the controversy surrounding this whole affair is that Kashgari was arrested AFTER he deleted his tweets. As in there was no longer any evidence of his blasphemous tweets. But as we know, a warrant for his arrest went out on February 8th and he was deported from Malaysia on February 12th.
As terrible and messed up as this thing is, Kashgari still should've known better. Insulting the Prophet Muhammad is an offense that comes with a death sentence in the country.
Leslie out.
@see_you_sLATER
Part of the controversy surrounding this whole affair is that Kashgari was arrested AFTER he deleted his tweets. As in there was no longer any evidence of his blasphemous tweets. But as we know, a warrant for his arrest went out on February 8th and he was deported from Malaysia on February 12th.
As terrible and messed up as this thing is, Kashgari still should've known better. Insulting the Prophet Muhammad is an offense that comes with a death sentence in the country.
Leslie out.
@see_you_sLATER
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
A Brief Follow Up on Hamza Kashgari
This just in (six days ago, that is): Hamza Kashgari has apparently repented for his tweets against the Prophet Muhammad. He claims to have made a mistake and deeply regrets it. Kashgari will most likely be charged with apostasy which is a capital offense in Saudi Arabia.
Uh oh. No real analysis here as the article I'm referencing is extremely short. Pretty intense stuff going on here.
Leslie out. Again.
@see_you_sLATER
Article referenced:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/10/interpol-journalist-arrested-muhammad-tweet
Uh oh. No real analysis here as the article I'm referencing is extremely short. Pretty intense stuff going on here.
Leslie out. Again.
@see_you_sLATER
Article referenced:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/10/interpol-journalist-arrested-muhammad-tweet
A Reverse Incident of Censorship in Saudi Arabia
That title is a mouthful. Sorry.
So, I last posted about Walid Bahomane being sentenced to jail for posting pictures of the king of Morocco on the internet. Bad stuff. But now I'd like to talk about that Saudi writer, Hamza Kashgari, who tweeted defamatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad.
The reaction to his tweets was explosive. He tweeted about how he "wouldn't pray for" Muhammad and how he "doesn't like the halo of divinity" around him. Kashgari prompted some serious outrage for his tweets, so much so that there are thousands of people calling for his death. Kashgari was so afraid for his life that he boarded a plane and headed to Malaysia....where he was immediately detained by the Malaysian police.
Yes, this guy's tweets were EXTREMELY offensive to the Muslim community. I understand that. That tends to happen whenever someone does bring up religion. But his three or four tweets brought in a response of 30,000 tweets, and a Facebook group called "The Saudi People Demand the Execution of Hamza Kashgari." 11,000 people have already joined it. That's a serious reaction. Everyone wants him dead. Kashgari deleted the tweets and issued an apology, but it wasn't enough. He literally fled the country to go to Malaysia where he as arrested, and currently the Saudi and Malaysian governments are issuing an exchange of custody.
In this case, I'm guessing that Kashgari wishes that internet censorship was in effect here. He probably went in and thought "only people who FOLLOW me will see these tweets. it's not hurting anybody."
Wrong.
He offended thousands of people who are now calling for his head. During a layover when he had to switch planes he was arrested. And now Kashgari is sitting in a jail cell, not knowing whether or not he'll be getting the death penalty.
Saudi Arabia has censors placed on the internet, filtering in appropriate content and hiding offensive material. They have censorship officials in charge of newspapers and magazines. And if anyone says anything that could be deemed offensive towards the king in anyway they face jail time. In this case, Saudi Arabia is on a ledge. They want the technology of today, they want to be in the modern era. But with technology comes a freedom that can't be controlled, and the Saudi government likes to put a muzzle on its people. They can't have social media connecting everyone and then expect people to filter their thoughts or die. It doesn't work that way.
Hamza Kashgari will most likely stay in prison for the rest of his life, unless he's beheaded first. Saudi Arabia needs to either get rid of its censorship and let worse come to worst. Or they can stop trying to advance their country and instead focus on silencing the people. Whatever works.
This is Leslie, signing off again!
@see_you_sLATER
feel free to comment or whatever!
Article Referenced:
So, I last posted about Walid Bahomane being sentenced to jail for posting pictures of the king of Morocco on the internet. Bad stuff. But now I'd like to talk about that Saudi writer, Hamza Kashgari, who tweeted defamatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad.
The reaction to his tweets was explosive. He tweeted about how he "wouldn't pray for" Muhammad and how he "doesn't like the halo of divinity" around him. Kashgari prompted some serious outrage for his tweets, so much so that there are thousands of people calling for his death. Kashgari was so afraid for his life that he boarded a plane and headed to Malaysia....where he was immediately detained by the Malaysian police.
Yes, this guy's tweets were EXTREMELY offensive to the Muslim community. I understand that. That tends to happen whenever someone does bring up religion. But his three or four tweets brought in a response of 30,000 tweets, and a Facebook group called "The Saudi People Demand the Execution of Hamza Kashgari." 11,000 people have already joined it. That's a serious reaction. Everyone wants him dead. Kashgari deleted the tweets and issued an apology, but it wasn't enough. He literally fled the country to go to Malaysia where he as arrested, and currently the Saudi and Malaysian governments are issuing an exchange of custody.
In this case, I'm guessing that Kashgari wishes that internet censorship was in effect here. He probably went in and thought "only people who FOLLOW me will see these tweets. it's not hurting anybody."
Wrong.
He offended thousands of people who are now calling for his head. During a layover when he had to switch planes he was arrested. And now Kashgari is sitting in a jail cell, not knowing whether or not he'll be getting the death penalty.
Saudi Arabia has censors placed on the internet, filtering in appropriate content and hiding offensive material. They have censorship officials in charge of newspapers and magazines. And if anyone says anything that could be deemed offensive towards the king in anyway they face jail time. In this case, Saudi Arabia is on a ledge. They want the technology of today, they want to be in the modern era. But with technology comes a freedom that can't be controlled, and the Saudi government likes to put a muzzle on its people. They can't have social media connecting everyone and then expect people to filter their thoughts or die. It doesn't work that way.
Hamza Kashgari will most likely stay in prison for the rest of his life, unless he's beheaded first. Saudi Arabia needs to either get rid of its censorship and let worse come to worst. Or they can stop trying to advance their country and instead focus on silencing the people. Whatever works.
This is Leslie, signing off again!
@see_you_sLATER
feel free to comment or whatever!
Article Referenced:
Friday, February 10, 2012
Morocco: Not a Fan of Free Speech. Or Social Media.
So Walid Bahomane. He's this 18-year-old kid who will most likely be sent to jail for posting "unflattering images" of the king on Facebook (c).
JAIL. That's serious.
Walid is our age. He could literally be a classmate of mine. And he's probably going to be sent to jail for offending the king.
This offense is very similar to Fouad Mourtada's arrest back in 2008 when he was arrested for creating a fake profile for the king's brother. Not a great idea to begin with, but he was accused of "villainous practices" for just making a fake account. He was sentenced to three years in jail for the offense. However, the public's response was so great - bloggers were in an uproar over this - and forced the government to give Mourtada a royal pardon after only a month in jail.
Just like the public responding so intensely to Mourtada's arrest, the increase in social media use considering Walid's offense has been extreme. Supporters and fans of his have been posting HUNDREDS of caricatures, comics, and images mocking the king and protesting Walid's arrest.
Seriously, the response is overwhelming. I'm guessing that half of these people don't even know Walid, but there out there tweeting things like, "@MusiqueArabe Operation support Walid Bahomane - publish a (king's) cartoon of you choice on your profile" and others claiming that their freedom is more sacred than their king.
In this case censorship on social media hasn't happened. Yet. Morocco is more upset over not being able to censor it and having to leave the picture and the resulting posts up on the internet while only being able to persecute the culprit. They want complete control, like the kind shown in Google China. Example: googling country borders in China on the U.S.'s Google shows China as seen on the world map. Googling China's borders on Google China shows many disputed borders and land that isn't a part of China as being considered Chinese.
Morocco wants that kind of control over the internet. Walid's post was just an excuse to exercise their power and show that they mean business and to "honor the king."
The internet is the last place where Moroccans can freely express themselves. Their government has everything else wrapped tightly around their finger. So for now, exercising social media censorship will be tricky for the king and his men.
This is Leslie, signing off.
@see_you_sLATER
Article referenced:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/in-morocco-and-saudi-arabia-limits-seen-to-speech-on-social-media/?ref=middleeast
JAIL. That's serious.
Walid is our age. He could literally be a classmate of mine. And he's probably going to be sent to jail for offending the king.
This offense is very similar to Fouad Mourtada's arrest back in 2008 when he was arrested for creating a fake profile for the king's brother. Not a great idea to begin with, but he was accused of "villainous practices" for just making a fake account. He was sentenced to three years in jail for the offense. However, the public's response was so great - bloggers were in an uproar over this - and forced the government to give Mourtada a royal pardon after only a month in jail.
Just like the public responding so intensely to Mourtada's arrest, the increase in social media use considering Walid's offense has been extreme. Supporters and fans of his have been posting HUNDREDS of caricatures, comics, and images mocking the king and protesting Walid's arrest.
Seriously, the response is overwhelming. I'm guessing that half of these people don't even know Walid, but there out there tweeting things like, "@MusiqueArabe Operation support Walid Bahomane - publish a (king's) cartoon of you choice on your profile" and others claiming that their freedom is more sacred than their king.
In this case censorship on social media hasn't happened. Yet. Morocco is more upset over not being able to censor it and having to leave the picture and the resulting posts up on the internet while only being able to persecute the culprit. They want complete control, like the kind shown in Google China. Example: googling country borders in China on the U.S.'s Google shows China as seen on the world map. Googling China's borders on Google China shows many disputed borders and land that isn't a part of China as being considered Chinese.
Morocco wants that kind of control over the internet. Walid's post was just an excuse to exercise their power and show that they mean business and to "honor the king."
The internet is the last place where Moroccans can freely express themselves. Their government has everything else wrapped tightly around their finger. So for now, exercising social media censorship will be tricky for the king and his men.
This is Leslie, signing off.
@see_you_sLATER
Article referenced:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/in-morocco-and-saudi-arabia-limits-seen-to-speech-on-social-media/?ref=middleeast
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Welcome to our Blog!
Welcome to the Mike and Leslie blog.
Follow us on twitter
Leslie: @see_you_sLATER
Mike: @Msweet197
We tweet about our class/project... and other things.
Here we will be chronicling our research (adventure) into the problems with social media and censorship in the Middle East.
Thanks
p.s.
Other good people to follow about problems in the Middle East
Andy Carvin @acarvin - "A senior strategist at NPR. Online community organizer since 1994. Former director of the Digital Divide Network. Writer. Photographer. Dad" - his twitter info
and
Shadi Hamid @shadihamid - "Director of Research at the Brookings Doha Center & Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. shamid@brookings.edu"- his twitter info
Follow us on twitter
Leslie: @see_you_sLATER
Mike: @Msweet197
We tweet about our class/project... and other things.
Here we will be chronicling our research (adventure) into the problems with social media and censorship in the Middle East.
Thanks
p.s.
Other good people to follow about problems in the Middle East
Andy Carvin @acarvin - "A senior strategist at NPR. Online community organizer since 1994. Former director of the Digital Divide Network. Writer. Photographer. Dad" - his twitter info
and
Shadi Hamid @shadihamid - "Director of Research at the Brookings Doha Center & Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. shamid@brookings.edu"- his twitter info
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