!["Salaat ul-janaza [Funeral service] of Sayyid Muhammad ibn Alawi Al Maliki, The Grand Mosque in Mecca, October 2004](../../images/janazahmalki.JPG)
Center for Islamic Pluralism Opposes Reported Arrest of Journalist/Blogger in Saudi Arabia for Apostasy, April 8, 2006
The Center for Islamic Pluralism expresses its opposition to the reported
arrest of Saudi journalist and blogger Rebah Algwaie, in the northern city
of Hail on April 2, on charges of apostasy from Islam.
Algwaie was employed by the newspapers Okaz and Shamas.
The Saudi Information Agency (SIA), a human rights monitor in Washington of which CIP is a supporter, states that "on November 14, 2005, Algwaie received death threats from unknown individuals who destroyed his car and left a message warning him to return to Islam or face direct harm."
CIP supports complete freedom of the press in the Saudi kingdom and
vigorously defends the rights of journalists in all countries.
SIA also reports the arrest or dismissal of five liberal-minded teachers in
the kingdom.
CIP takes this occasion to point out that apostasy charges and proceedings
in countries where radical Islamists are established or particularly active,
like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan, are frequently pretexts for political
repression, in which religion plays no genuine role.
This is not a new problem in Islamic history and should be studied and
debated as an issue of political development as well as theology and
religious pluralism .
Stephen Suleyman Schwartz
Executive Director
Center for Islamic Pluralism
Washington, DC