Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere · Global Voices
Ahmed Al-Omran

Like the rest of the world, the infamous Danish cartoons was one of the main topics discussed in the Saudi blogosphere during the past two weeks. Abu-Joori believes that boycotting Danish products was a very civil choice, even though he understands that neither the Danish government nor the Danish people are responsible for what the newspaper published. “So why do we try to harm them?!” he asked. He goes on:
When we expect others to respect us .. our highly respected figures.. we shall do the same .. we shall respect them and respect the things that are important to them!… Actually, even if they do not show respect to us or to our religion .. we shall do what we think is right .. and not be in the reaction mode ALL the time!!!
He was, of course, talking about the violent assaults against foreign embassies in Syria and Lebanon. However, Mo5 o 7ekma says such attacks were expected, and thinks that those who attacked the embassies should not be arrested and punished (Arabic) because they are “just some angry youth.” The boycotting has affected some of the nutrition habits for Saudis who used to depend on Danish products for a very long time. “All I can say is thank god Dunkin Donuts isn’t Danish!!” Feras said. Mohammed Al-Shwaier posted this drawing with the title “What kind of destruction have you chosen for yourself, Denmark?”
Now, let's move on to another controversy. This time, it's about a novel called “Banat Al-Riyadh.” It was written by a young dentist, and sparkled a lot of controversy over the past year. Jaded Saudi, who read the book  on her recent trip home, thinks it is because this book “talks about everything that's taboo and supposedly doesn't happen in Saudi, like dating, booze, girls dressing up like boys and driving…” She does not understand why people are in denial, and says maybe people are upset about it because it relates such taboos to Riyadh, “when in reality this crap happens everywhere in Saudi and even in the Gulf countries,” she added. Meanwhile, Ruba, one of the youngest Saudi bloggers, thinks that this book has gained a lot of undeserved attention (Arabic). “Even in the best and most developed societies there are books which reflect a bad image about their societies,” she said.
Finally, Green Tea, posts his thoughts on how he could get rid of dealing with Arab media, and that now he depends on blogs to keep up with the latest news (Arabic). “Bloggers have given us a golden alternative, because they don't undergo any kind of control that may restrict them or forces them to publish any certain set of ideas, and because they enjoy much more freedom to express their opinions,” he wrote.