“Saudi Arabia appears determined to sacrifice one of its young on the altar of domestic politics. At the center of a brewing storm is Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old journalist who faces charges of apostasy and a potential death sentence for posting controversial views of the Prophet Muhammad on Twitter in early February”
“…As the drama surrounding Kashgari unfolded Nasser al-Omar, a particularly odious scholar with a history of calumny, emerged as the leading figure in his public persecution. Al-Omar’s radical credentials are considerable. In the 1990s he was an advocate of an especially shrill anti-Shiite sectarianism, a sentiment that is deeply entrenched in Saudi society today. More important, he is part of a generation of scholars that has openly questioned the fitness of the Al Saud to rule. In a video commentary that quickly went viral, al-Omar broke down in tears as he called for Kashgari’s execution”
