Saudi Blogger Arrested

The Saudi Ministry of the Interior has detained a well known Saudi blogger, called Fouad al-Farhan. He was arrested on December 10th, but news about it was only released on January 1st.

This arrest has received considerable attention world-wide in both the MSM and the blogshpere. Online articles about this case can be found e.g. here, here, here, and here. Related Arab News articles can found here and here.

The reason Fouad's detention can be found in this article:-

Even so, Farhan told The Washington Post and others in early December that an Interior Ministry official had warned him that he would be detained because of his online support for a group of men arrested in February and held without charge or trial.

At the time of their arrest, the government accused the Jiddah-based group, made up of a former judge, academics and businessmen, of supporting terrorism. The men's attorney, Bassim Alim, had said they were arrested for their political activism and their plans to form a civil rights group.

This is not very hopeful for the supposed increase in official tolerance for dissent and criticism since King Abdullah's ascent to the throne.

Fouad's blog can be found here. Fouad blogged mainly in Arabic, however, it is now being maintained by friends of his who write in both English and Arabic. The blog Saudi Jeans (in English) has a lot on the campaign to free Fouad.

Having outlined the facts I now come to the point of this post which is, I have to admit, some concern for my personal safety. The following are my thoughts on this issue.

1) Now you know why I blog anonymously. Even so, if they were determined to do so, I'm sure the Saudi authorities could find out who I am.

2) While Fouad blogged in Arabic and was one of the most popular Saudi bloggers, I blog in English and few people read what I say. For this reason I doubt that the Saudi authorities will be concerned about me.

3) On the other hand I have made some criticisms which some Saudi authorities might not take too kindly to.

Family members, however, have heard about the case of Fouad and have begged me to stop blogging. While I do not intend to stop blogging completely, out of respect for their wishes, posting may be light for a while.

Christmas Trees

(Image for illustration only - this is not our Christmas tree.)

My friend over in the Eastern Province told me a story recently which implies that Saudi customs guards are still confiscating Christmas trees.

Apparently, this family which he knows went over the causeway to Bahrain for the day and while there they bought a Christmas tree. The particular tree was selected by the four-year old son of the family.

When they tried to return to Saudi, the customs officer refused to allow the tree into the kingdom and was about to confiscate it. This caused the little boy to burst into tears. The father went to the chief customs officer and pleaded with him to allow them to keep the tree on behalf of his still weeping little boy. Finally, the senior customs officer relented and allowed them to keep the tree.

We were aware that the customs guards on the Bahrain causeway used to confiscate Christmas trees because of some friends of ours who moved to our vicinity from Khobar. Several years ago they had tried three times to bring a Christmas tree over the causeway into Saudi and had the trees confiscated each time.

We bought our seven-foot Christmas tree "under the counter" from a shop in a local shopping mall many years ago. However, for our first Christmas here, I recall making a Christmas tree out of cardboard. We also made a cardboard star which was then covered in tin-foil. The same star is still proudly attached to the top of our Christmas tree over ten years later.

The (Wahabi-inspired) attitude of the Saudis contrasts strongly with that of the Bahrainis. My friend also tells me that the Christmas decorations in Bahrain airport are significantly better those at Heathrow!