Saudi Bans Twitter, Declaring It as Anti-Islamic
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Jumat, 19 Oktober 2018 23:27 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Riyadh – The Saudi government officially bans Twitter. On Friday, Nay 17, Head of Saudi Religious Police Sheik Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh warned that anybody who uses social media, especially Twitter, will lose their life and the afterlife.
International Digital Times noted that the Sheik's statement is similar to what has been preached by the Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, which was televised to millions of viewers last April. The Imam denounced Twitter as a "threat to the national unity" and "anti-Islamic".
The ban is deemed as a form of government precaution towards preventing social media being utilized to facilitate discussions of political, religious, and other sensitive issues.
Jonathan Turley, a law professor from George Washington University, assreted that the Saudi government is concerned that human rights activists may use Twitter to spread their thoughts.
"The more repressive the government seeks to ban Twitter, the more they remind us of the power of social media as a liberation tool around the world," Turley stated.
NPR | HOSPITA YS
