Monday, January 14, 2008

Blogs I've read

The Religious Policeman is the blog that ignited my interest in the whole phenomenon. It was created and maintained by a Saudi man who now resides in the UK (or so it may seem to be). The blog's name is the translation of the much feared "muttawa" in Saudi Arabia.

You might have heard of the Saudi intolerance and medieval style of living, but this blog gives you a first hand account of the day to day life of ordinary Saudi's who are torn between living in a extremely restricted society yet at the same time having western culture infused within them.

Saudi bloggers criticize their government at an extreme risk. Freedom of speech is virtually non existent in the Middle East and bloggers usually use pseudo names in an effort to protect their identity. However one blogger dared to reveal his name and shared his views of freedom and his unflattering stand on the government. The bloggers name is Fouad al Farhan who was detained by Saudi authorities on December 1oth 2007 and remains to this day under arrest.



For those who would like to know more about Fouad, you can access his support site here.

Anywayz, back to the Religious Policeman. The Saudi gentleman does not maintain the blog anymore as in his own words, they no longer trouble him for the moment. Give this blog a glance, you're bound to be intrigued.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Muttawa is sadly missed. It says all you need to know about KSA that bhe had to choose safety over freedom of expression, even in another country.