The Tweet Locker

       Hazma Kashgari is 23, a blogger and journalist who was arrested this past week for "incendiary" tweets he made during a fictitious dialogue with the Prophet Mohammad.   Attempting to seek asylum in New Zealand, he was arrested in Malaysia and returned to Saudi Arabia to face charges of apostasy, which is a charge that carries the death penalty.

         So, what is "apostasy?"  Simply put, when one turns their back on their own religion (or political platform).  If you were raised catholic, and now call yourself "recovering" you are practicing apostasy.  So, what did Mr. Kashgari do to find himself accused of such a mundane offense?  He tweeted.  He made a series of tweets, talking to Mohammed.  I will attempt to quote Mr. Kashgari from a non-judgmental, subjective perspective: "I have loved things about you [Mickey Mouse] and I have hated things about you [Mickey Mouse] and there is a lot I don't understand about you [Mickey Mouse].  I will not pray for you [Mickey Mouse]."  Was that really so bad?  This young man without a doubt was grabbing a tiger by its tail, but is that worth the possibility of a public execution?  Is this the worth of a human life?

         After his tweets were posted and public outcry began yammering for his head, Mr. Kashgari did what any sensible person would, flee.  He boarded a plane for New Zealand, by way of Malaysia.  It was in Malaysia where he would be detained for "allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed."  Malaysia held him for five days before extraditing him back to Saudi Arabia to face the death penalty.  I feel I should reiterate "possibly," because deep down inside I hope cooler heads will prevail and a 23 year-old man won't be executed over 140 characters.  But Malaysia, a left leaning (read moderate) Islamic country delivered this man back into Saudi custody, knowing the "possible" repercussions.            

        In general terms Kashgari's return to Saudi Arabia would be referred to as an "extradition."  As in, "Sir, you've been accused of robbing banks in the US, and here we find you on this sunny Caribbean beach.  You had a good run, but we're gonna take you back."  We'll attempt to compare this to an "extreme rendition" which traditionally takes the form of someone breaking into your home, putting a bag over your head, and taking you to a prison outside the United States to spend your days being water-boarded and your nights piled in a naked pyramid.  In summation: in the US if you are accused of being a terrorist, you will disappear and the US will in effect give you a reason to hate America; in Saudi Arabia they'll kill you for disagreeing with the status quo.  This is the part of the movie where the villain traditionally says, "We're not so different you and I."

        It's easy to keep pointing fingers: Mr. Kashgari should've known better; Malaysia should have given him asylum; the US and her colonial cousins shouldn't have rattled the middle east as hard as they have, for as long as they have.  But, this is not about religion or the death penalty; these avenues of thought are clear derailments from Mr. Kashgari's situation.  This is about Saudi Arabia's traditional impotence in defending what they hold sacred.  This is about all the women killed under suspicion witchcraft and of all the fatwas placed against thinkers and writers; this is about a cycle of violence that will not stop until humanity changes.  This is about Malaysia playing politics to keep their allies happy.  This is about America not even following a story like this on the news.  This is a sad, stupid thing, and I am sick thinking not only about how it's going to end, but how few people even knew it started.