Often times in Islamic history governments use the charge of atheism or insults to religion to arrest or even kill individual writers who offended those governments politically. This may be true about the cases of Ibn Al-Muqaffa` and Bashshar Bin Burd or even Al-Hallaj. This is now true in the recent case of the arrest of Saudi liberal, Turki Al-Hamad. The government is claiming that he was arrested for his tweets that were deemed offensive to religion. That is a lie. Saudi dissidents tell me that he was arrested for tweeting this: (I love House of Saud and I can't imagine the country without them. But they have to respond to our love with love, and our respect with respect. But what is happening does not express love or respect.)
"أحب آل سعود..ولا أتصور هذا البلد بدونهم..ولكن عليهم أن يبادلونا حباً بحب..واحتراماً باحترام..ولكن ما يجري لا يعبر عن حب أو احترام.."
"أحب آل سعود..ولا أتصور هذا البلد بدونهم..ولكن عليهم أن يبادلونا حباً بحب..واحتراماً باحترام..ولكن ما يجري لا يعبر عن حب أو احترام.."
