(Middle East Transparent) Elham Manea - Souad Al-Shammary, a Saudi women's rights activist, is in prison, charged with "publicly calling for the liberation of Saudi women and the separation of religion from the government." Wahhabi clergy have a worldview that insists on separating Muslims from non-Muslims. To differentiate a Sunni Muslim male from non-Muslims, they call on him to grow a long beard. Al-Shammary called the idea "silly," tweeting to her more than 100,000 followers that "Jews, priests, Communists and Marxists" (like Karl Marx) also wear beards. This was not considered a joke by the Saudi establishment, who also charged her with "denial of the holiness of the clergy."
2014-12-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive