Maryam Namazie

Maryam Namazie is a political activist, campaigner and blogger

There must be more people who want Hamza to live not die

The Facebook page الشعب السعودي يريد القصاص من حمزة كاشغري ‘The Saudi People Demand Ghisas [Retribution] for Hamza Kashgari’ has 22,500 members as of now.

And the Free Hamza Kashgari page you ask? 2,500.

Facebook sees no problem with the first Facebook page though complaints have been made. It’s ‘their culture’ after all.

But a call for Ghisas under Sharia law is a call for ‘retribution’ and be assured that it doesn’t mean tweeting a poem offensive to Hamza…

Now I know there are more people that want Hamza to live not die, many of them in Saudi Arabia.

Well, let’s see it please.

Join Free Hamza Kashgari Facebook page.

Also, please sign the petition.

Comments

20 responses to “There must be more people who want Hamza to live not die”

  1. ra heinrich schmitz Avatar
    ra heinrich schmitz

    this is the german supporter group https://www.facebook.com/groups/362488920442088/ let’s work together to free hamza

    Reply
  2. I'm_not Avatar
    I’m_not

    There’s a huge spam attack by Anonymous taking place on the Hamza Facacebook Hate page

    HERE

    Posted 20.48 GMT 15.02.2012

    Reply
  3. elisabetht. Avatar
    elisabetht.

    Hamza Kashgari’s plight and relative lack of support elucidates in my view the selective, politicised concern of the Euro-American left on issues of Islamic human rights abuses.

    Are any of the other FTB bloggers, for example, making an issue of this literally life-and-death affair, or were they too busy mocking creationists and reminding us of the *terrible danger* of Christian fundamentalist notions of modesty in America?

    Suitable pressure on the Saudis would likely require firm American diplomatic intervention and one can imagine the reflexive ‘anti-imperialist’ and anti-American feelings on parts of the left. Or if the the Christian anti-Islamic block were mobilised to make this a cause célèbre, that too would go against the preferred political dichotomy, especially amongst anglophone leftists.

    As a social democrat atheist I would rather work with an arch American conservative to save an innocent life than watch an arch Saudi conservative murder a person in the name of religion!

    Reply
  4. Rafiq Mahmood Avatar
    Rafiq Mahmood

    Qiawas is retribution. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The appropriate retribution for Hamza’s tweet must be a tweet to Hamza on his birthday saying:

    1- On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you’ve always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you.
    2- On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more.
    3- On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more.”

    followed by an apology for any offence that may have been caused and a deletion of the tweet.

    Not one more thing is due from Hamza. Not one hair on his head should be harmed. Indeed he and his family are due compensation for his forced repatriation and detention. He must be given an immediate free flight to New Zealand. Qiswas is due to him far more than is due from him.

    Can someone please translate this into Arabic and post in my name in the “demand qiswas” facebook page or I shall do it myself. Then flood my post with likes.

    Reply
  5. Ophelia Benson Avatar
    Ophelia Benson

    I just corrected a typo in a post of mine from Sunday that said 30 thousand people thought Hamza should be executed – a typo for 13 thousand. Now reality has almost caught up to my typo. That’s not a good thing.

    Reply
  6. Hamza Kashgari | Geoff Coupe's Blog

    […] Apparently, there’s also been a Facebook page set up to support him. I don’t do Facebook out of principle, but I understand that it has something like 2,500 signatures. I note in passing that at the same time that the Baroness talks about a rise in secular intolerance of religion, the rival Facebook page set up calling for retribution against Kashgari for tweeting about Mohammad has 22,500 signatures. […]

    Reply
  7. Albert Yome Avatar
    Albert Yome

    Maryam, I’ve signed the petition and joined the group, but i have also reported the other group to Facebook for inciting violence against an individual. I do this on the basis of what you’ve said as I cannot read Arabic.

    Please encourage others to do the same.

    Reply
  8. Alexander Safir Avatar
    Alexander Safir

    Done and done.

    Reply
  9. Bill Avatar
    Bill

    There must be more of course, but I suspect that most people in the free world don’t know. To those keeping the gates closed on the story, it is an “internal matter.” 🙁

    Reply
  10. F Avatar
    F

    Ali Jabbari

    No problem with the link or the site. What happens after you click on it?

    It could be anything, but in what country do you reside? Is it one with ISPs and networks controlled by a government which isn’t big on internet freedom?

    Reply
  11. Ali Jabbari Avatar
    Ali Jabbari

    I can not open the link for petition .
    is there any problem ?

    Reply
  12. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Done and done, but has any government spoken out about this?

    Reply
  13. Graham Martin-Royle Avatar
    Graham Martin-Royle

    I’ve signed the petition but not joined the FB group, why, simples, I don’t do FB, can’t stand it, won’t support it.

    Reply
  14. Tommi Paalanen Avatar
    Tommi Paalanen

    Signed. Thank you for this marvelous blog!

    Reply
  15. Marshall Avatar
    Marshall

    Signed this petition and the one Ophelia has been promoting, joined the Facebook group, promoted all of the above as much as I could to friends on Facebook. REALLY wish there was more I could do, this is absolutely unacceptable and I’ll be watching intently as things unfold. I am absolutely disgusted by all parties involved in this.

    Reply
    1. Clara Connolly Avatar
      Clara Connolly

      there are people who are not signing out of fear, because there are rumours that the Saudi authorities are going after his supporters as well.
      that is the way these guys work to quell dissent – by spreading a contagion of fear. Millions in the Arab world have discovered recently that they are no longer afraid.

      Some may decide it might be prudent not to sign – if they are within the reach of the Saudi authorities. But there is so excuse for the rest of us!

      Reply
      1. Clara Connolly Avatar
        Clara Connolly

        sorry ‘no excuse’!

        Reply
    2. Rafiq Mahmood Avatar
      Rafiq Mahmood

      I signed the petition with qualifications. It somewhat sticks in my gullet to say, “Prophet Muhammad(pbuh)” so this was the comment I added:

      Hamza is a poet and licence has always been given to poets. He did not insult Muhammad ibn Abdullah but merely expressed in a poetic way what Muslims are supposed to believe: that Muhammad is only a man and should not be worshipped. Indeed the greatest sin in Islam is to associate anyone with Allah.

      To allow the trial or, if found guilty, punishment for blasphemy or apostasy not only is morally wrong but also brings into disrepute the name of Islam and the reputation of the Kingdom as a just society. It is likely to do far more harm than good and does not enhance the status of Muhammad ibn Abdullah in any way – rather it is more likely to provoke intemperate hatred and abuse of his name.

      Note: I do not refer to Muhammad ibn Abdullah as the Prophet and do not invoke a prayer after his name. This aspect of the petition I do not agree with. This is in accordance with the practice of Muhammad ibn Abdullah when signing the treaty of Hudaiba when the other parties to the treaty said that they did not know whether Muhammad was the prophet of Allah and Muhammad agreed to the neutral designation. I claim the same privilege and in doing so explicitly do not intend any derogatory inference.

      Reply
      1. Marshall Avatar
        Marshall

        I entirely sympathize with your distaste for the wording of the letter, but allowing that to prevent me from signing it would have been a terrible mistake on my part. I somewhat regret not having written something similar to what you have, but whatever problems there are with the wording of the letter are infinitely small concerns compared to the evil the letter seeks to stop in its tracks.

        Reply
        1. Rafiq Mahmood Avatar
          Rafiq Mahmood

          I agree.

          Reply

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