Arab netizens joined the rest of the world today in awaiting news of a new pope, who will replace Benedict XVI.

As soon as the white smoke bellowed from the Sistine Chapel, Lebanese Nada Akl quipped:

@Nada_Akl: Pope alert, white smoke

Libyan Ismael wondered:

@ChangeInLibya: That's alot of white smoke. Are you sure it's just the ballots they're burning in there? #Suspicious

Syrian Karl Sharro said:

@KarleMarks: Once again, the cardinals have defeated us. They managed to elect a new pope before we managed to come up with a single funny pope joke.

And Egyptian Alyaa Gad joked:

@AlyaaGad: White smoke from the Sistine Chapel indicates that the cardinals finished having their (burned) dinner and now it's time for a joint. #Pope

Arab netizens also played guessing games on the name of the new pope, which has not been announced at the time of writing this post.

Lebanese-American Asad Abukhalil announced [ar]:

تسرّب إسم البابا الجديد: جورج دبليو بوش. مبروك.

@asadabukhalil: The name of the new pope has been leaked: it's George W. Bush. Congratulations.

And Free Tunisian noted:

فاليري سئلت عن هوية البابا الجديد فأجابت نازحة ” أكيد قطري … أنهم يشترون كل شيئ

@tounsiahourra: Valerie [a reader] asked me about the identity of the new pope so I answered joking: “It is certainly a Qatari. They buy everything.”