American Bedu

Okay, I admit it.  I am not being a conformist.  Today has been slated as a day of silence among Saudi bloggers in support of Fouad Al Furhan, the jailed Saudi blogger.  As of this writing, Fouad, who has committed no crime except writing what was on his mind in his blog, continues to be held in a Saudi jail.  The arrest of Fouad continues to receive international attention and particularly so from the West.

There are a number of individuals who routinely post multiple times per day on internet forums and even on blogs using aliases which can contain some very disturbing and disconcerting posts about jihad, terrorism, declaring fatwas, promoting a holy war and speaking against the Kingdom and the Royal family.

Then on the other hand you have Fouad, a family man, who has chosen to blog in his own name and provide photos of himself and his children on his blog site.  He considers himself as an online journalist keeping the people and the world informed of what are the views and perspectives of the average people.  Fouad has also provided facts and ground truths on some realities that some factions would like not to have mentioned.  After all, isn’t there a belief in some circles if it is not talked about or discussed, it does not exist, right?  Was Fouad apprehended and jailed for daring to speak out?

What then are the far-reaching implications of Fouad’s arrest?  What message is this sending to Saudi bloggers?  What message is this sending to the world on the Kingdom and its efforts towards becoming more open?  There are so many “Saudi-bashers” out there that this incident just serves as more fuel on that raging fire on those who are sure Saudi Arabia is a closed society with no freedoms and promotes terrorism.  Yet, in reality, that perception could not be further from the truth.  However the actions of the government in the case of Fouad send very confusing signals.

To begin with, while Saudi bloggers continue to increase in their numbers, I’m sure that fewer will dare to blog with their true name like Fouad or Ahmed Al Omran of Saudi Jeans (http://saudijeans.org).  And these are two guys whose blogs and messages are worth reading.  They make people think as well as open the eyes and minds of the uninformed.

The arrest of Fouad will likely make bloggers more circumspect in what they will choose to post.  After all, noone wants to be apprehended and placed in a jail for sharing their point of view.

Will the international outcry of Fouad’s arrest and appeals to free him have a positive result?  Will the controversy surrounding this incident have the effect that more bloggers would dare to be more open, thinking that the international support is there so they will remain determined to speak out and write on issues even if knowing that issue is controversial?

Will monitoring of blog sites increase here in the Kingdom?  Was Fouad targeted more closely by authorities due to his site having both English and Arabic?  Are Arabic sites monitored more closely for concern over what may be posted and how the views could influence minds of Saudi citizens?

As you can probably tell by now, Fouad’s arrest has led to a lot of questions in my mind. 

For those of you who may not be familiar with the background of Fouad and his arrest, I encourage you to view the following links from Saudi Jeans which has very detailed coverage of the events since Fouad’s arrest:

http://saudijeans.org/2008/01/03/fouad-says/

http://saudijeans.org/2008/01/01/you-got-the-wrong-guy/