Saudi comedian and Arabs Got Talent judge Nasser Al Qasabi knows a thing or two about freedom of expression. The star of the popular satirical TV series "Selfie" was trending on Twitter over Ramadan, over his comedic skit on Daesh (ISIS). While widely hailed as brave for mocking religious extremism and terrorism, not all of his 727,000 Twitter followers were impressed.
Al Qasabi received death threats from Daesh supporters and was branded an apostate by Imam Saeed al-Farwa (although the imam was forced later to apologize). Daesh supporter Jalbeeb Al Jazrawi was later arrested by Saudi authorities for threatening to chop off Al Qasabi's head for the negative portrayal of Daesh in 'Selfie".
So it is with a lot of experience that Al Qasabi took to Twitter to say, with a twinge of sarcasm of course, "an urgent call for Saudis in Dubai, after the new passed law, please pay attention to what you say!"
The UAE's Sheikh Khalifah Bin Zayed has recently issued a decree to prevent religious discrimination and hatred, which carries fines up up to AED 2M or execution. The UAE's strict social code has also been extended to online, to include fines of up to Dh250,000 or deportation. The most recent case was just last week, where an expat woman being deported for using foul language on her Facebook page to criticize someone who parked across two disabled bays outside her home.
