Saudi decision demonstrates the weakness of Islam

Guardian:

Saudi Arabia’s supreme court has upheld a sentence of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes against the blogger Raif Badawi on charges of insulting Islam, according to his wife.

The judgment came despite worldwide outrage over his case and criticism from the United Nations, United States, the European Union, Canada and others.

“This is a final decision that is irrevocable,” his wife, Ensaf Haidar, told AFP in a telephone interview from Canada on Sunday. “This decision has shocked me.”

Badawi received the first 50 of the 1,000 lashes he was sentenced to outside a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on 9 January. Subsequent rounds of punishment were postponed on medical grounds.

Amnesty International slammed the “abhorrent” decision to uphold a “cruel and unjust sentence”, describing it as a “dark day for freedom of expression”.

“Blogging is not a crime and Raif Badawi is being punished merely for daring to exercise his right to freedom of expression,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa director.
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One of the weaknesses of Islam is that its followers think any criticism will lead to people rejecting it.  In fact actions such as this by Saudi Arabia will lead more to the conclusion that it is not a sane religion.  Is saying something like that a capital offense in Saudi Arabia?  Apparently the Saudis are so weak they can't tolerate criticism of their religion.