08 February 2012

Journalist Flees Saudi After Tweet on Prophet

An apology by Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari over his controversial tweet about Prophet Muhammad failed to dampen a Salafi campaign against him prompting him to flee his home country.

The issue has turned from a spontaneous reaction into an organized campaign run by a group of disturbed Salafis, which has included death threats.

That’s how a series of attacks quickly escalated against Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari following his tweets on the Prophet Mohammad’s mawlid (birth), which was celebrated on Saturday. Kashgari fled in the wake of the campaign. There are conflicting reports about his current whereabouts. A new twitter account believed to be his claims he headed to Canada while other news reports say he is in Southeast Asia. [online@al-akhbar.com] Read more