'Festival Of Insults' For Saudi King On Twitter

​by Mary C Long 

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​Did you hear about the festival of insults directed at Saudi’s King on Twitter? Well, even if you can’t read Arabic (Twitter will translate as best it can) – check THIS out.

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According to the Angry Arab blog, there was a whole day campaign of solidarity by young Egyptians and their Arab supporters on Twitter to generate an avalanche of insults to the Saudi King using this hashtag: #طظ_في_ذاتك_الملكية_طال_عمرك‬
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Why? Well, ABC News tell us that a prominent Egyptian human rights lawyer, Ahmed el-Gezawi, was arrested upon his April 17 arrival in the Saudi port of Jiddah. He was on his way to perform a minor pilgrimage, called umrah, to Islam’s holy shrines in the Saudi cities of Mecca and Medina.

"El-Gezawi’s sister said he had been convicted in absentia and sentenced to a year in prison and 20 lashes by a Saudi court for insulting the king. However he was not notified of the court’s ruling ahead of his Saudi trip. El-Gezawi had earlier filed a lawsuit in Egypt against King Abdullah over the alleged arbitrary detention of hundreds of Egyptians.

The fact that he was arrested on his way to perform a religious rite further enflamed Egyptian sentiment."

And to say they were inflamed appears to be an understatement. ‏Protestors called for a demonstration in front of the Saudi Embassy in Cairo. We have some pictures, again from the Angry Arab blog (as well as the descriptions), which were found on the wall of Saudi Embassy this morning. This poster says: “So Toz (it is a non-obscene insult in Arabic) to your majesty, and try to arrest us, o soul of your aunt.  Solidarity with the Egyptian citizen, Ahmad Al-Jizawi, who is under arrest in Saudi Arabia under the charge of insulting the royal self.”

And on the wall of the Saudi Embassy in Cairo, they wrote: “May your life be long (a Gulf expression), the Ka`bah does not belong to your mother.” ​

There are some who are doubting the value of using Twitter, of course: ​

But it appears the festival of insults is going strong: ​

What do you think? Is this an effective form of protest or are folks wasting their time?

Originally appeared on Social Times
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​IMAGE CREDIT: Jasn