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 Litigiously religious Saudis are attempting to sue MBC news channel Al Arabiya for blasphemy, according to a report in Arab News.
A group of unnamed citizens filed the suit at a court in Jeddah – the same court which, earlier this week, sentenced LBC worker Rozanna Al Yami to 60 lashes (later commuted).
The suit alleges an unidentified Al Arabiya programme (we’re doing well on details here, aren’t we?) “ridiculed God, the Last Prophet (peace be upon him), Angel Gabriel and the Sayings of the Prophet,” according to Arab News.
“This will not make God happy nor His Prophet as well as Muslims who are enthusiastic about their religion, especially as we are in the land of the Two Holy Mosques and the place of revelation where God has helped its leaders to implement Shariah, support His religion and call others to it,” the paper quoted the suit as saying.
Judge Muhammad Mirdad said the case went to the chief judge of the court, who passed it on to the justice minister, who will in turn pass it on to the Ministry of Information.
Al Arabiya itself has apparently heard nothing of the case so far, with a spokesman telling Arab News that the channel has a legal department to deal with that sort of thing.
While blasphemy is no doubt a serious issue, there is something faintly ridiculous about this case, with no identified programme, a chain of legal pass-the-parcel, and a would-be-defendant that doesn’t know anything about it.
No doubt the world will hear more when the case reaches the Ministry of Interior.
Meanwhile, Mirdad also gave Arab News some more details on the Al Yami case, which he judged. Specifically, he explained why he sentenced 22-year-old Al Yami to be lashed, instead of referring her case to the Ministry of Interior.
Arab News revealed the judge “said the verdict against woman journalist Rozanna Al Yami was based on her admission in court that she is not a journalist, but a university student who was cooperating with a media organisation”.
So, basically, Al Yami was there on work experience.
And this is sufficient justification to give her the lash.
Well, this is a mixture of anger and disgust that’s bubbling through your correspondent right here.
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