Laura Bashraheel Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Hamza Kashgari, the 23-year-old who was detained in February 2012 for allegedly making blasphemous comments on the popular social media website Twitter, has written a poem from prison confirming his apology. The poem was published on the front page of a prominent Arabic daily newspaper, Okaz. Kashgari was arrested after tweeting a detailed imaginary conversation with Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on his Twitter account, in which he addressed him as an equal. After generating over 30,000 fevered responses and a number of death threats, Kashgari deleted the post and issued a formal apology. The letter was published by family members and friends in an attempt to allay public anger and hopefully secure Kashgari's release. Many religious scholars and people continue to insist that his apology should not be accepted and that he should be punished for his comments. Others have asked authorities to forgive Kashgari. During an Arabic TV talk show “Herak” last June, Kashghary's mother called in to say that her son “had said what he said with good intentions but had not expressed himself well.” She added that he had repented on the same day before any official statements against him were issued. Sobbing on air, Kashgary's mother went on to beseech King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to help her son and “to look upon him with mercy and compassion, and to look at my heart.” “I swear no joy has entered my heart these past five months. I hope our father King Abdullah will exonerate my son and release him safely so that he can fast Ramadan with us.” Shahad Ghouth, a 26-year-old graduate student, said that Khashgari should be released since he publicly apologized and admitted his mistake. “They release many prisoners in Ramadan and during Eid Al-Fitr, they should have released him,” she said. “His repentance should be enough for him to return to normal life. So many people say that his apology isn't sincere but no one really knows what's inside his heart.” A Hashtag under the name (Hamza's Eid) was created after the apology letter was published on Twitter, with people asking for his release and sending his family prayers and support. “I can't believe some people are demanding that he be executed,” said Maha Ahmad, an Islamic educator who teaches at a local Saudi school. “There are people committing crimes more destructive to society and inhumane. Yet they are not sentenced to death, not even in jail.” She continued “where is our humaneness and forgiveness? What message are we giving about Muslims and Islam?” One Twitter user wrote, “Hamza should be freed now and be allowed to spend Eid with his family.” “There are others who've tweeted and are tweeting more outrageous things,” said Mohammad Alghamdi who chose not to disclose his twitter handle. “But they've not been persecuted with this severity. The same laws and standards should either be applied to everyone or no one. Why is Hamza's case being treated with such extremism?” asked Alghamdi.
