Imprisoned Saudi writer Raif bin Muhammad Badawi was on my mind this week, as he often is when questions of free speech arise.
He was arrested in 2012 and faced the death penalty over charges of apostasy. Lucky for him, he was only sentenced to a decade in prison, torture, 1000 lashes and a fine. The then 25-year-old husband and father of three dared question why Saudi women needed a male guardian to walk down the street or indeed why all Saudis were required to believe in Islam on a website he set up to foster a discussion of liberalism.
Amnesty International, for what it’s worth, determined he was “a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression”.
Hajj ends officially after last batches of pilgrims complete rituals July 23, 2021
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Who s Who: Sheikh Bandar Baleelah, imam at the Grand Mosque in Makkah
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Tuesday, 20 July, 2021 - 05:00
Pilgrims perform the symbolic stoning of the Devil. (SPA) Makkah – Ibrahim al-Qarshi and Omar al-Badwi
The Hajj pilgrims headed to Mina on Tuesday, the first day of Eid al-Adha, after spending the night in Muzdalifah following their ascension of Mount Arafat.
At Mina, they will perform the symbolic stoning of the Devil.
After completing the ritual, they will return to Makkah to perform the Tawwaf al-Ifada and later the “Sa’ay”, or running or walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah, located near the holy Kaaba.
The pilgrims will spend three days at Mina, known as the days of Tashreeq, for the stoning of the Devil.