Saudi Arabia: Defending the Virtue of Syrian Women? · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.
A tweet urging Saudi men to marry the wives and daughters of some 300 Syrian martyrs sparked a flurry of angry reactions online. On August 11, 2012, a Saudi young man, Bader Al Domiyat, tweeted the following message [ar]:
The tweet that caused outrage
It translates to:
This is the mobile of a Sheikh (clergyman) in Al Jawf, who is in charge of 375 sisters from Syria. Daughters and wives of martyrs. Anyone who wishes them virtue and shelter, please call ……Oh lord protect me from the curses of women and channel them to Bashar
Shortly after, Bader retracted and then deleted his tweet, apologizing for his mistake. At the time of writing this post, his Twitter account was disabled.
I deleted the tweet minutes after it was posted because the one who sent me the news, found out it was untrue. May God forgive the one who took a screen shot of it and spread it. I send my regards and appreciations to the free ladies of Syria.
Nevertheless, the message went viral, followed by rebuke from readers, who not only denounced Al Domiyat but also praised the courage of Syrian women, calling them heroines, under the hashtag #عفاف بنات سوريا or the Virtue of the Girls of Syria and بدر_التمياط_لا_يمثلنا‬‏ or Bader Al Domyat doesn't represent us.
Sarah al Mutazz [ar] is very angry:
ياويلك من الله بهالايام المباركه ! تسببت في فتنة وجرحت مشاعر الآلاف من السوريين مااشوف بهالهشتاق الا السورريين يدعون عليك
Ahmed Al Hussayen [ar] warns Al Domiyat:
Majeed [ar] is keen on showing that Al Domiyat's opinion only represented himself:
Mayamy [ar] tweets:
Othman Khaleed [ar] is also quite embarrassed:
As for Emad [ar], he says:
And Mohamed Abu Saud [ar] provides a different solution:
Skon [ar] has somehow a similar opinion:
Some comments are more cynical like Rio [ar]:
Roshka [ar] from the UAE doesn't spare with her criticism:
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.