Seems like we have a theme for the week... Islamic governments going after bloggers who believe their religion should be compatible with democracy and free speech.
Watch Chan'ad Bahraini for updates on first one, now THREE people jailed in Bahrain. Babbling Bahrania is also on the case with the latest about the plight of blogger Ali Abdulemam, plus Mohammed Almosawi and Hussain Yousif, all three of them moderators of Bahrainonline. According to Babbling Bahrania, "This is an arabic site which you can access to get a flavour of the kind of debates. It has tended to be highly critical of the government, although the moderators have always maintained a certain standard of debate which is not abusive or slanderous."
Bahrania asks: "if you knew u were going into custody, what would you pack in your suitcase?"
UPDATE: Bahrania's latest post shows the frustration of people who are sick and tired of the Bahraini Big Brother:
Our boys, Ali, Mohammed and Hussain will be forced to face a difficult choice: close BahrainOnline.org, wipe out the database or face SEVERE consequences. Will they stand by their principles and rights to free speech and forsake their future? This is the choice they are facing right now in that interrogation room.
Ali was the visionary of this project, Mohammed was the brains, Hussain was the voice. They're identities were never secret. Which one will break under pressure? I'm sure they now realise this is no joke and the government is DEAD serious on closing this site down. How long can it go on clamping down on its people - banning foreign participants to conferences, arresting people collecting signatures for a petition, threatening the closure of political societies, arresting a human rights activist, living on royal whims, blocking websites and now this.
Will Bahraini Big Brother do the right thing? Bahrania hopes international attention will make that more likely: "What else can we do? How do we know this isnt just some blogger frenzy and that the authorities are hearing this??"
It's surprising that this is happening in Bahrain, the generally and relatively least restrictive Gulf State, aside from Dubai.
It again highlights how changing the area's perspectives on secularim is a generational process, and one that doesn't neatly fit into US presidential terms or western media's demand for binary answers.
Posted by: Michael Parekh | March 02, 2005 at 12:18 PM