Morsi was first perceived as weak and torn between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) but the latest decisions have asserted his position and enabled him to rebrand himself.

A TV screenshot featuring Mohamed Morsi surrounded by the Egyptian Army's top chiefs in the day of his inauguration as president. Photo from Flickr by Zeinab Mohamed (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Cairo-based journalist Bel Trew was puzzled by Morsi's move:

‏@Beltrew: Someone please put me out of my misery and explain how #Morsi could do what he did today and what it means and what #SCAF think. Someone.

Revolution back on track

Entrepreneur Ahmed Reza expressed his relief tweeting:

@ByRedz: The longest eeeeeeeh I've ever say in my life ! #Morsy #مرسي

Prominent activist Wael Ghonim tweeted:

‏@Ghonim: #Morsi recent decisions were a practical response to Western analysts who thought that #Jan25 was not a revolution rather a military coup.

Cairo-based Al Jazeera English reporter Rawya Rageh added with humour:

‏@RawyaRageh: Been resisting saying this since yesterday.. but I give in. #Morsi to Egyptians — “Who's your daddy now?”

Egypt Islamized?

Cartoon by Carlos Latuff in which Mohamed Morsi is reading a book entitled, “Erdogan's Path to Power” while sacking Mohamed Hussein Tantawi thus following the footsteps of Erdogan who fired twenty generals a week before.

Some have considered the move as an attempt to concentrate more power in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. Blogger Zeinab Mohamed posted:

Of course there is another team who does not approve these decision and believe it is a civilian coup against the military in order to start the Muslim brotherhood’s master plan in MB-ization of the army and the State in partnership with the States that want to destroy our army forever.

Blogger and Middle East analyst Nervana Mahmoud tweeted:

‏@Nervana_1: Forget Tantawi and Annan … This is not a soft coup, but a declaration of Islamic state. #Morsi #Egypt

Twitterati Gigi Ibrahim tweeted:

‏@Gsquare86: It is crystal clear that all state officials have one agenda, power. They will do anything to keep it, steal it, and expand it #Egypt #Morsi

What coup?

Others, however, doubted the efficiency of the move. Mohamed El Hebeishy tweeted:

‏@Hebeishy: This is not sacking..this is not even remotely close to sacking..this is safe exit while manipulating z ppl over & over again #Morsi #Egypt

Journalist Jano Charbel was unsatisfied by Morsi's decisions:

‏@JanoCharbel: Will eagerly partake in #Aug24 protests against #Morsi & #Brotherhood for their incompetence, lies, censorship &pardoning criminal generals!

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Saudi comedian Fahad Albutairi [ar] tweeted:

One netizen, also from Saudi Arabia, made a gloomy comparison [ar]:

Blogger Khaled Khallawi tweeted [ar]:

Cartoon by Kuwait-based cartoonist Hashimoto about Arab divisions: Two Arabs arguing: One says, “You're Shia” and the other says, “You're Sunni” and the TV screen reads, “Curiosity lands on Mars”.

Zaki Safar said [ar]:

Entrepreneur Jamal Abu-Hulaigah criticized the Arab societies marked by huge consumption [ar]:

Medina resident Abu Ru'a Aljahni criticized the modernity shaping the Arab Gulf states [ar]:

Libyan blogger Salah Al-Haddad posted [ar]:

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Some Emirati activists want to protect the local culture from being ravaged by Western habits in the country's cosmopolitan society. While the Emiratis have preserved their local dress, they want to ensure a minimum level of decency in public places.

Many awareness signs were put in malls to urge shoppers to follow certain dressing guidelines but with no effective results. The online dress code campaign has attracted the support of many netizens.

Dress code at a Dubai mall. Photo from Flickr by Zahid Lilani. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

When in Rome…

The campaign's official Twitter account said:

@UAEDressCode: Everyone can wear freely wat they like, but with simple limits. Extra inches of cloth won't kill you. #UAEDressCode #UAEDecency

Indian expat in the Emirates Farrukh Naeem tweeted:

@farrukhnaeem: I support #UAEDressCode as an Indian expat who respects his host – just like I would expect non-Indians to respect my culture back home

Abdulla AlKendi tweeted:

@AbdullaAlKendi: If you are against #UAEDressCode which is part of #UAEDecency Law, then you shall be pleased when people call you ‘b****’

Madonna and the UAE dress code

One of the things that prompted criticism towards Madonna's recent concerts in Abu Dhabi was the costumes. Writer Sandra Hiari said:

@sandra_hiari: Madonna won't certainly accept a #UAEDressCode. I wonder what the causes of the movement are; cultural?

Madonna performing in a skirt on June 12 in Rome, Italy, which is part of her MDNA Tour. Photo from Flickr by Luigi Orru. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Blogger Woman Unveiled posted:

I definitely support Al Muhair and Al Rayes’ movement. [...] In the case of Madonna’s outfits and dance moves though, I think the context allows for some leniency. Plus, it’s not like anyone was forced to go. Fans of hers know that she can get quirky while entertaining live, and most look forward to what she has planned. With that being said, I know that some restraint on her part would’ve been applauded by her fans in the Arab World.

Are men affected by the new dress code?

Some women voiced their concerns about the revealing dress of some men. Blogger Umm Qahtan tweeted:

@UmmQahtan: men also need to cover their chests & not wear such tight shorts/pants it's sick when they adjust themself

Pam, an expatriate blogger, posted:

Everything I have read is directed at the way women dress. This has made me uncomfortable as I have also seen men dress inappropriately just as many times as women. If men are not included then such a law could be mistaken for the repression of women.

The UAE Dress Code campaign assured them that men will be indeed part of the new dress code:

@UAEDressCode: Men are also included they have to apply the dress code. :) #uaedresscode

How to implement the new law?

Expatriate blogger Pam outlined a strategy to implement the envisaged dress-code law:

I would recommend before implementing a dress code into law, the government invest in an education campaign. This has not been tried yet. Perhaps it is under consideration. Assuming the application of fining or punishing someone for inappropriate dress takes resources, time and money; just think of the savings for the judicial system. And not just the money – would you prefer to have your policemen chasing after people dressing inappropriately, or would you rather they focus on real criminals? Education is the key. Educate residents and tourists, and insist that the security at facilities ask people to leave the premises if they do not abide.

Dubai's Desperate Housewife raised the issue of the absence of criteria to define decent clothes posting:

But of course “inappropriate” is quite subjective. How do you quantify “respectful dressing”? A woman could be covered from neck to ankle in clothes so tight they hide nothing, while another could be wearing baggy shorts that show a little leg above the knee, but be far more chaste. [...] But while some things are clearly not acceptable, there’s a large grey area. I almost feel we need an online service where we can ask before going out, “showing 80 per cent arms but zero per cent leg, outfit 50 per cent tight – what’s my decency rating?”

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Performers in Muslim countries usually face opposition from the conservative factions of those societies; Lady Gaga's concert in Indonesia was cancelled recently amid pressure by conservatives and hardliners.The timing was also not appropriate as the event came after the Houla Massacre in Syria. Madonna was slammed by Twitter users for various reasons.

UAE dress code

Fashion designer Hala Zadeh summarized the sequence of events in her tweet:

@halaZadeh: Getting Madonna to Abu Dhabi, knowing who she is, then criticize her and trash her everywhere!

There is no law regarding dress codes in the Emirates but efforts have been put in place to make a dress code law.

Savannah NOT Banana said:

@EasyAsPieMmmPie: You know who else didn't care about #UAEDressCode? Madonna, in Abu Dhabi, or anywhere really

Blatant exposition of Christian symbols

As the Arabian Peninsula is the birthplace of Islam, it is sometimes considered offensive to expose symbols of other religions in a blatant way. Madonna used crosses of different sizes as stage props and the concert was started by ringing bells, chants and monks. Khaled Hammadi tweeted:

Saudi netizen Mansour Al-Harethi tweeted:

Alleged affiliation with the illuminati

Madonna's concert showed religious imagery. Hamad Al-Shirawi tweeted acknowledging Madonna's alleged links with the Illuminati:

@Hamad_AlShirawi: No more crazy illuminati concerts please. #Madonna

Sexuality

Expatriate blogger Pam posted:

I am no prude, but she pushed the limits. I am sure some people who attended, and perhaps some leaders of this country who got wind of what went down were not very happy with her. There is nothing directed at Islam in the show that I could see, but I am sure her kissing a woman and the cross dressing dances didn’t go over well among other things.

Profanities

At the beginning of the concert, Madonna addressed the crowd calling them “sons of a bitch.” Saudi Sheikh Khaled Al-Saqaby tweeted:

American Expatriate blogger Thomas O'Hara posted:

I'm told that her first song was in HEBREW and that she spewed profanities during the entire show. A common ex-pat would be thrown in jail for years for that kind of public behavior.

Bad timing

The concert was held soon after the Houla Massacre in Syria. Emirati Twitter users said it was not time for rejoice and partying. They organized an online campaign using the Twitter hash tag [ar] ‎‫#مادونا_تراقص_جراحنا‬‏ (#Madonna_Dances_On_Our_Wounds).

Blogger Mohamed Alfraj posted [ar]:

Emirati blogger Ibrahim Alharam expressed his disappointment at the campaign failure tweeting:

However, Emirati blogger Ahmed Al-Gargaoui posted that Madonna's performance is controversial by nature:

We all know the hype Madonna has created, however regardless of all the fuss people have created over Madonna coming to Abu Dhabi.. I believe she performed beautifully, we all know the Madonna brand is controversial so if you do not want to associate yourself with it or dislike, simply don't just like an over 18 film at the cinema, don't go see it if it offends you.[...] I think this country is led by great men and they wouldn't allow her to perform if her content was extremely controversial or insulting.

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"A failed government even at organizing the baccalaureate exam". Photo from La révolution tunisienne 14-01-2011

Moi-Même tweeted mockingly saying that building a big bridge in Tunis has accelerated the leak [fr]:

@salamboo: Tu as passé ton bac? Non c'est plus possible en #Tunisie depuis qu'on a construit le pont de Rades!!!

He moves on to claim that not only Arabic was leaked but all the tests:

@salamboo: Le bac c'est pas une fuite c'est un déluge. Tous les sujets pas uniquement l'épreuve d'arabe #Tunisie

Netizen KFRS tweeted:

@Artkore_: On me Signale dans l'Oreillette que Le Sujet d'Anglais du #Bac est en Circulation sur FB #Tunisie

Emna Ben Achour slammed the government saying:
‏

@EmnaBA: Le #TnGov frappe encore très fort, fuite dans le devoir d'arabe du #BAC !! Incompétents ils le sont et le resteront #Tunisie #Troika #fb

Mejdi Mt noted in a desperate tone:

@ElMillonario_MM: Pourquoi on s'étonne d'une fuite au bac quand on a tout un pays qui fait sa fuite en arrière.. #tunisie #tngov #bac #bac2012

Ousting the Minister of Education?

Rumors have been circulating on social-networking sites that the Minister of Education resigned.

Netizen Aymen tweeted:

@Aymennee: Selon RTCI y'a rien sur la démission du ministre de l'éducation et la personne derrière la filtration a été identifiée #Tunisie #BAC

Moi-Même clarified:

@salamboo: selon le gouvernement l’incontinence n'est pas une raison valable de licenciement #bac #Tunisie

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Fundraising for the Syrian opposition with its political and military wings has been gathering momentum around the world through many charities. The pace of fundraising has also accelerated since Houla Massacre. At the same time the Saudi authorities decided to ban fundraising for Syria. Kuwait, on the other hand, intensifed fundraising efforts. Saudi Islamic preachers tweeted the ban of fundraising for Syria and netizens expressed their anger over the surprising move.

Saudi Sheikhs Ban Syria Fundraising

Fundraising poster in Saudi Arabia showing the local numbers of the Committee to Save Syria

Ali Badahdah narrated his own story:

Hassan Al-Homaid said:

The following video from arrrkd features testimonies from various Arab Islamic preachers about the Syria fundraising campaign:

Netizens’ Reactions to the Ban

Abdularahman Alrashed tweeted:

Saudi Sheikh Abdulaziz Tarefe tweeted his support for the Syrian rebels saying:

Youssef Al-Hajeri tweeted:

Mohamed Al-Hodaif added disobediently:

Egyptian author Fadel Soliman replied angrily to the ban decision:

Mohamed Al-Hajeri tweeted:

Saudi Islamic preacher Salman al-Ouda encouraged people to donate:

Meanwhile, journalist Hassan Hassan explained the true reason behind the ban:

@hhassan140: #Saudi‬ banned ‪#Syria‬ fundraiser for 2 reasons: campaign organised by clerics; who said no need to wait for states, there're “ways” to help.

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The children were trapped in a nursery within the mall, and they and four teachers died of smoke inhalation. Two firefighters died as they attempted to rescue them.

Those who died came from various countries including France, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and Spain.

What happened?

Qatar's Ministry of Interior reported:

@MOI_QatarEn: The Minister said that the Rescue Police reached the spot within a minute of information and Civil Defence team reached after two minutes.

@MOI_QatarEn: But lack of floor plans, thick smoke and heat and malfunctioning sprinkler systems hindered rescue efforts at the Villaggio.

@MOI_QatarEn: It was alerted lately only that children were trapped inside and finally Firefighters had to go in through the ceiling.

Smoke coming from Villaggio Mall. Image posted by @LivinginDoha.

Doha resident Kirsty Rice offered more details on her blog:

Today may well be remembered as one of Doha's darkest. For those who have announced to friends and family that Doha is a wonderfully safe place to raise our children, today will perhaps be remembered as the day that innocence was lost. As a community, we are, as my friend Erika said this evening “numb with grief”. [...] Thirteen children were trapped inside the nursery, it is believed their exit, a staircase, had collapsed from the heat of a fire. Where exactly the fire began is yet to be confirmed. The nursery was in the interior of the mall, meaning you walked through a virtual rabbit warren of corridors to get there. From what I understand, when the firefighters arrived at those corridors they were considered impenetrable and too dangerous to enter, it was decided the only other way to get there, was through the ceiling. By the time the hole was cut, it was too late, they were gone. Thirteen beautiful children, four teachers and two firefighters. Smoke inhalation meant that their little bodies were carried lifeless from the building.

In this video journalism student Usama Alony (usamaah2290) interviewed witnesses and filmed rescue efforts (he notes that some viewers might find it upsetting):

What about safety requirements?

Witnesses reported that there were neither alarms nor sprinklers in operation at Villaggio Mall.

Nano expressed his surprise:

@fermoreno: It's unbelievable that Villagio has the best luxury shops one could ever imagine, but fire protection systems didn't work #Villagio #Qatar

Raed Al Emadi tweeted angrily:

@Ra_ed: I am a Qatari and selfish business that does not take into account the safety of consumers does not represent me! #Qatar #villagio

The following video by TheVanishforever features an interview with a restaurant employee, in which she says that in the four years she had worked in Villaggio she couldn't recall any fire drill or training:

Where were the local media?

Doha residents were furious that local media seemed to be ignoring the fire, and were not providing updates.

South African Bilal Randeree criticized the absence of coverage on local radio:

@halalcomedy: Stuck in traffic cos of the #Villagio fire and forced to listen to #QBSradio talk cheating husbands kissing mistresses! #occupyqbs

From Libya, Hamid asked about the Qatari network Al Jazeera:

@2011feb17: Oh dear, with the thousands of reporters Aljazeera have around the world they forgot to appoint one in Doha? #VillaggioFire news blackout!

Al Jazeera English online producer Ben Piven gave credit, like many others, to the blog Doha News for its coverage:

@benpiven: @dohanews only source with real info on #VillaggioFire. Huge lack of local media coverage after public safety failure in massive mall blaze.

Qatar newspaper The Peninsula acknowledged the role of citizen media played in reporting the fire in an article entitled “New media trumps the traditional”.

Mourning the dead as #OneCommunityDoha‬

There are plans for a public gathering at Aspire Park in Doha on May 29 to support the families who lost loved ones in the Villaggio fire. While those who died were all foreign residents of Qatar, Qataris have been quick to offer their support.

Twitter user Qataria78 tweeted:

@Qataria78: Good morning, a day has passed but ur always on our minds, Mothers we feel the pain ur going through :( ‪#villaggio‬ #‪#VillaggioFire

Abdulla Ali Almannai asked:

@abdullaalmannai: If u know how to reach the families who lost loved ones please share//qatari people want to go to these families ‫#حريق_فلاجيو‬ ‪#VillagioFire‬

And Fatima Al Kuwari tweeted:

@fkuwari: Every soul on this land is one of us, Qatari or non Qatari, we are all one society. RIP ‪#VillagioFire‬ victims

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“Nakba” means “catastrophe”, and refers to the process of mass expulsion of Palestinians from their villages by Israeli forces both before and after Israel declared itself a state in 1948, creating a large Palestinian diaspora around the world.

Palestinian blogger Rana Baker told the story of Hajj Othman who was expelled from his home village during the Nakba:

Hajj Othman Sa’d Aldeen al-Habbash was born on 29 June 1941 in a small Palestinian village west of present-day Ashkelon known as al-Jura. On November 4 and 5 1948, the village was mercilessly depopulated of its native inhabitants who numbered just under 3,000 in 1948. Just like the rest, Hajj Othman, seven years old at the time, fled to Gaza. [...] “I left my schoolbag at my house in al-Jura, we thought it was temporary. They raided us from their planes. Eighty-six were murdered in a matter of few minutes.”

Mural in Rafah, Gaza Strip on theme of Palestinian refugees returning to their homes. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib, copyright © Demotix (8/05/2012).

Iyad El-Baghdadi tweeted:

64 years of a catastrophe called Israel. Cartoon by Carlos Latuff.

My mother’s father was born in the town of Ramleh. He lived there for the first decade and a half of his life. [...] In 1948, my grandfather and his family were among the 70,000 Palestinians who were forced to leave Ramleh, the neighboring town of Lydda, and the surrounding villages. He died in 1987, having returned only once in the 1970s for a brief visit with family members who had remained in the town. A Jewish family now lives in this house. Neither my grandfather’s parents, nor he or any of his siblings ever received so much as a cent in compensation. They certainly never received acknowledgement for their losses.

Blogger and anthropologist Jhshannon narrated the story of Nidal's family:

Nidal’s family traced its origins to the Palestinian city of Safed – a religious and commercial center in Galilee in the North of Palestine. Her grandfather, a certain Marwan al-Safedi, had been a wealthy merchant as well as local religious leader during the first half of the twentieth century. He and his wife, Faidah Sharabi, bore two children, Rashid and Fatima, and they lived in a spacious home toward the edge of the southern part of the city. Then came the Nakba, the “Calamity.” The family was forced to flee Safed in May, 1948, following Operation Yiftah, a plan by Jewish paramilitaries to take over Safed as part of the broader conflict that resulted not only in the establishment of the State of Israel, but also in the flight and exile of many of thousands of Arabs from Safed and neighboring villages.

Palestinian activist Yousef Munayyer said:

@YousefMunayyer: On the Nakba in 1948, Ben Gurion said “The old will die and the young will forget” yet #WeWillReturn48 trends worldwide in 2012

And journalist Dima Khatib tweeted:

@Dima_Khatib: It was 64 years ago, on a day like today, that many like my grandmother, started the journey of refugees, for the rest of their lives ‪#Nakba‬

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The initial results of the first stage of the Egyptian presidential election indicate that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq will take part in the runoff vote on June 16 and 17.

There has been widespread shock at the reemergence of Shafiq, one of the “feloul”, or “remnants” of Mubarak's regime. It seems that a majority of Copts as well as many others chose to vote for Shafiq fearing the Islamization of the country and seeking stability.

Netizens have been strongly divided over Ahmed Shafiq's success.

Ahmed Shafiq press conference, 14/5/2012. Image by Virginie Nguyen (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

In a blog post entitled “It is Time of Silence”, Zeinab Mohamed wrote:

My only consolation is that from 90 million Egyptians only 50% of the eligible voters in the country (50 million) participated in this election so we are speaking about 25 million voters only, the historical elections that reminds me of the Six-Day War defeat.
I do not have any words, it is like choosing between two hells: the Muslim brotherhood or Shafiq!!!
We are all to blame especially the #Jan25 Revolutionaries who sat back in bubbly Cairo ‘that voted for Shafiq’ and in their closed social networks realms. We are responsible for this without doubt.
I do not want to speak now but one thing for sure I feel my generation has the same feeling that the 1967 generation felt and I am afraid of that feeling.

Shafiq campaign poster near Shafiq headquarters sprayed with "feloul". Image from Al Jazeera Live Blog (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

@Hhafoos: #mubarak is pissin his pants from laughter right now…

Caricature artist Ahmed El Massry expressed his disappointment:

Egyptian-American journalist Reem Abdellatif warned:

@Reem_Abdellatif: Political experts i've talked to expect #Egypt to head toward collision w/ “demos, violence, claims of fraud” if #Shafiq wins.

Other people, on the other hand, support Ahmed Shafiq and celebrated his win. Expatriate businessman Ashraf Ismail explained why he supports Shafiq:

Mr Shafiq has a both conservative and liberal way of thinking and is known to be a very practical person aiming to bring stability to the country and solid investments. Whereas Mr Morsi is an Islamist hardliner with an affiliation to a group that has a deceitful history full of violence.
In terms of future investments and socio-economic development programmes, it is widely envisaged that Egypt’s economy will rapidly grow under Mr Shafiq’s development progamme. Others do have reservations and fears about the state of affairs that Egypt will go through should Mr Morsi wins this race.

Ranya Khalifa pointed out:

@RanyaKhalifa: Stop blaming Copts for #Shafiq's rise!! If you want a “democracy” then don't take it piecemeal..Egyptians are free to choose whom they want!

Journalist Rawya Rageh quoted Shafiq:

@RawyaRageh: #Shafiq: No such thing as I'm affiliated to the old regime, if we say so, then the whole of #Egypt is. We need to grow up, drop this issue.

Although some revolutionary factions warned they will take to the streets if Ahmed Shafiq wins, the leader of Al Nour Party, Egypt's major Salafist party said that they would not protest.

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/2012.

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Full discussions of the issue have been delayed until December.

GCC civil society groups have requested that their governments postpone the move and engage their people through a referendum. Iran has called for rallies against the proposed union of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain which it describes as an annexation of Bahrain (and its comments were in turn protested by Bahrain).

Across the Gulf concern has been expressed regarding the plans for a union.

GCC states. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Aiyah Saihati, a Saudi blogger and entrepreneur, slammed the plan:

Saudi’s attempt to create a union for the purpose of countering Iran, which is not a threat, is only to enhance the sectarian narrative. Shifting the narrative from democratization to a sectarian frame changes how potential protests in the country are handled. The smaller countries with denser resources are ahead of Saudi in some of aspects of development and already have partially and soon fully elected parliaments. Uniting with Saudi just means inheriting its dogmas and problems. It means diluting dense resources over a larger more problematic constituency as well as diluting power per square area if one considers the total area governed by Al-Saud. If I were Qatar, why would I dive in?

Kuwaiti Ghassan El-Wagayan tweeted:

@Ghassanw: Thank you but NOOOOOO thank you

In Bahrain, Ali Al Saeed asked:

@alialsaeed: Oh no, women drive in #Bahrain? How can there be a union with #saudi? Ban female drivers?! #GCCunion

Kuwaiti Mishal Al Mutire expressed his concerns:

Bahraini journalist Wafa Alamm wrote:

Journalist Mohammad Albaghli questioned the feasibility of the move:

Madawi Al Rasheed, a Saudi professor of social anthropology, tweeted:

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Saudi liberals have been stigmatized for a long time for their progressive views and calls for human rights and democracy in a society that defines itself by its conservatism. They have been heavily attacked by the religiously-dominated ruling class. The group Saudi Liberalism aims in the long term to develop into a political organization.

7 May, 1st Saudi Liberalism Day. Image posted by Twitter user @mr_nejo.

Leading Saudi liberal activist, Souad Al Shammary, who is secretary-general of the group Saudi Liberalism, wrote:

Secular university student Mohammad tweeted:

Prominent liberal activist Wael Alqasm tweeted:

Other people, however, criticized Saudi Liberalism Day as well as the idea of liberalism itself. Law graduate Jawahir Al Subaie commented:

@TheJawahir: I don't understand the purpose of Liberalism Day in ‪#Saudi‬ ‫#7مايو‬

Badr Al Rashed criticized Saudi liberals saying:

Abdullah Mohemed Al Dawood quoted [ar] Al Jazeera talk show host Faisal Al Qassem who apparently said: “I laugh very much when I see a secular man, who hasn't even convinced his family about his ideas, attacking the Islamists who control the streets everywhere.”

Abullrahman Al Kanhal criticized liberals in a blog post:

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