Saudi Arabia is running their own inquisition, publicly punishing heretics with life threatening lashings. The West stands by, helpless to put a stop to this barbaric threat to civilization. Raif Badawi has been sentanced to 1000 lashes and ten years in jail for apostacy. In Saudi Arabai, peaceful religious debate is a capital offense. Badawi was not allowed to have a lawyer represent him in court. Instead the judge demanded that Badawi repent to God, which Badawi refused to do Badawi's website, "Free Saudi Liberals" caused the Saudi governmentn to arrest him for insulting Islam by electronic means. Human rights organizations from all over the world have appealed to the Saudi king to free Badawi but the king has refused.
The evidence against Badawi included Badawi's claim that Muslims, Jews, Christians and atheists are all equal. After Badawi was arrested and detained for one day he left Saudi Arabia but came back, believing that the government had lost interest in the matter. In 2009 he was barred from foreign travel and his business assets were frozen. This action by Saudi Arabia violates international law which protects freedom of expression. International law only allows content-based restrictions in extremely narrow circumstances, such as slander or libel against private individuals or speech that threatens national security. Laws against expression must be clearly defined, specific, necessary and proportionate to the threat they post to the country being criticized.
Badawi wrote, "As soon as a thinker starts to reveal his ideas, you will find hundreds of fatwas that accuse him of being an infidel just because he had the courage to discuss some sacred topics. I am really worried that Arab thinkers will emigrate in search of fresh air and to escape the sword of religious authorities.
Arguing against state religion, Badawi said, "Secularism respects everyone and does not offend anyone .... Secularism ... is the practical solution to lift countries (including ours) out of the third world and into the first world.
Regarding Israel: "I am not in support of the Israeli occupation of any Arab country, but at the same time I do not want to replace Israel with a religious state ... whose main concern would be spreading the culture of death and ignorance among its people when we need modernisation and hope. States based on on religious ideology ... have nothing except the fear of God and an inability to face up to life. Look at what happened after the European peoples succeeded in removing the clergy from public life and restricting them to their churches. They built up human beings and (promoted) enlightenment, creativity and rebellion. States which are based on religion confine their peole in a circle of faith and fear.