The Kingdom of Jordan is striking down hard against a serious threat to its security, a member of one of the most venomous and destabilizing crafts the in the world: a poet.
Thinking that the 27 year-old poet Islam Samhan’s words could bring down monarchs, A Jordanian court sentenced the wordsmith to a year in prison and fined him $14,100.
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) reported Samhan was accused of ridiculing the religion and divine doctrines, offending prophets and not registering his publication at the Jordanian department of printing and publishing, which also happens to upset God (who personally gave the department divine, bureaucratic sanctioning).
According to IFEX, the trouble began for the poet back in March 2008 when he published “Rahaqet Dhel” (Gracefulness of a Shadow). It ruffled the Muslim Brotherhood and Jordanian Mufti’s feathers. They accused him of blasphemy, and he was eventually prosecuted and detained for 15 days on 19 October 2008.
Samhan stated that he had registered his book in the National Library and submitted copies at the Jordanian department of printing and publishing in early 2009, and that some ministries and government institutes bought copies of it. Samhan said, “It is not at all about blasphemy,” but “the poem ‘When features are that clear’,” describ[es] how dim-witted intelligence people are, as they convince the Arab ruler that his own people are but a senseless pile of lumber.”
I could see how that pissed off some powerful people. The combination of organized Muslim sensitivities and authoritarian intolerance for criticism and free-thinking truly adds up in nightmarish ways.
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This is rather typical isin't it. Whenever the authorities in either of the 3 "moderate" Arab countries criticize the government, the government accuses them of ridiculing "Islam" thus taking the heat off the government.
Posted by Super Sayyin | June 25, 2009, 4:18 pmI don't understand why it's such a crime to ridicule Islam in the first place. Unlike Saudi Arabia, Jordan's monarch doesn't claim that his authority stems from divine authority.
Posted by Reverse Cowgirl | June 25, 2009, 4:30 pmBy claiming it ridicules Islam, much of the population (which regards religious issues as untouchable) would put themselves on the side of the government, and would see a prison sentence as justified.
If they didn't do this, the public would place themselves on the side of the poet, seeing as they have no problem with people ridiculing or criticising the government.
Posted by Shafiq | June 25, 2009, 5:44 pmJordans Monarch claims descent from the Prophet Muhammad himself, something even the Saudi Monarch wouldn't dare claim.
Posted by Super Sayyin | June 25, 2009, 5:46 pmThanks Shafiq. I never thought of it from that perspective. It makes sense.
SuperSayyin – It's my understanding that both the Jordanian royal family and the Saudi family are distant relatives, claiming ancestry from the Hashemites. Therefore, even Saudi royalty claim that they descend from the prophet's bloodline.
Posted by Reverse Cowgirl | June 25, 2009, 6:20 pmIts a common misconception that the house of Saud and the House of Hashim are related. I too used to also automatically assume that this was the case.
The house of Saud claim descent from the Banu Hanifa tribe and this is their official claim. The Banu Hanifa are alleged to have been Christians at the time that Prophet Mohamad existed (although the evidence for this is vague; however it is clear that they were in no way related to the Quraysh tribe of Mohamad).
It is also alleged that they were a nuisance to Mohamad but even this is based on vague evidence. However, the overall consensus is that they are not directly related to the Prophet of Islam, and they may have been one of the tribes that made his life difficult.
Posted by Super Sayyin | June 25, 2009, 7:36 pmThis story had been out for two days and I wrote in favorer of the Jordanian court rule, here one comment in Arabic
قبل ان تنتقل السلطة للرجل كانت اللغة اربع حروف وكان الابداع شعري فقط ويقوم على النطق بحرف خامس وعقوبته القتل , فالابداع في جوهره جريمة , تكيف الانسان مع الزمن وتعايش مع هذه الجريمة, وخفف العقوبة واسقطها لحاجته الى قدرات انتاجية اخرى في الوظيفة والعمل لدى ذلك "المبدع", فالابداع ليس وسيلة لكسب العيش الكريم, فالجرم قائم ولا جدوى من دحضه (محامي) فالعقد الاجتماعي متسامح اصلا بتحديدة مساحة تحتمل تفعيل العقوبة وتغاضيه عما سواها, فالاشتباه هو دليل كاف , والتسييس (افتعال مؤامرة ونكاية) مرفوض قطعا هنا , وعليه يجب قبول وتنفيذ هذا الحكم , والنظر اليه من الناحية الابداعية كمكافأة , ففي السجن سيتم الالتقاء بازاحات اجرامية للنفس البشرية اكثر شحذا وثراء
The "boy" is seeking publicity and the court give it to him , what's the problem?
Posted by riskability | June 25, 2009, 7:56 pmWill, shouldn't you have let one of your Muslim co-bloggers make this post? Whether your arguments have validity or not, many people will dismiss them because you aren't Muslim.
Posted by programmer craig | June 25, 2009, 11:21 pmThat's ludicrous. Why should someone's religious affiliation limit the scope of what they write about?
Posted by yaman | June 26, 2009, 6:55 amYaman, when it comes to religion(and ethnicity and cultural issues for that matter) , criticism is best received when it comes from within. What's ludicrous is you not understanding that. It's a "human nature" thing. Will may think his status as a half-Arab Christian makes it OK for him to criticize the religious practices of Arab Muslims but I'm guessing they don't agree.
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Posted by bdbkxnjcpfz | June 29, 2009, 9:13 pmI can't LOOK at my dad, my eyes don't focus
I'm in PAIN when i talk to my mom, on the PHONE
my dad wants me to talk to you so I can look at him
Posted by Marwa | July 1, 2009, 9:27 pm