Bloggers in Saudi Arabia Cautious About Expressing their Opinion

In Saudi Arabia young people that have an Internet connection attempt to promote the idea of change within the conservative Gulf Arab monarchy. The country does not have an elected parliament and clerics are the ones to have a powerful influence on the opinion of the society. In addition, in Saudi Arabia most newspapers express the opinion of officials and people are prohibited from organizing and participating in demonstrations. This is why blogging represents the only tool that can make people heard.



Although the officials in Saudi Arabia made it possible for some foreign media to report about the events in the country and the information minister holds a page on Facebook, analysts and diplomats believe that conservatives are still cautious about changes. According to researchers in Saudi Arabia, at the moment there are about 10,000 blogs in the country. However, a lot of them are inactive or simply refrain from expressing opinions about the issues in the kingdom. Most of them focus mainly on daily life and try not to talk a lot about Islam, which is considered to be a rather sensitive topic.



Abdulrahman al-Hazza, spokesman for the information ministry, mentioned that most blogs in Saudi Arabia were not monitored. At the same time, bloggers still remain cautious, especially when earlier a law was enacted saying that anyone who "touches upon the general order, religious values, or general conduct" can be put on trial, said the information ministry. Bloggers worry that the government would use the law to take serious actions against those who express freely their opinion over the Internet. It is worth mentioning that in April the Committee to Protect Journalists described Saudi Arabia as one of the worst nations for bloggers, saying that the government in the kingdom monitors the blogs and had already blocked about 400,000 websites. Still some journalists in Saudi Arabia believe that the situation will improve over time.



It is yet a mystery whether the government of Saudi Arabia really controls the online resources in the kingdom. Bloggers will still remain cautious, expressing fear that they may be caught when expressing their ideas. The freedom of speech is definitely a serious issue in the country and something needs to be done. It would be a great step towards democracy if the young generation will be able to freely express their opinions, especially over the Internet, currently the most powerful international information source. Will things change in Saudi Arabia or will the government still actively monitor the activities of its citizens? This is the question that remains open, at least until bloggers are finally free to say whatever they believe is needed to be said, without any fear.