A hip Saudi Arabian newspaper, Shams (Sun), has been shut down by the Conservative Kingdom for posting the Danish Muhammad cartoons:
A newspaper in Saudi Arabia has stopped publishing after printing some of the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Shams (Sun) has been suspended as part of an investigation into its decision to publish the cartoons that have caused anger across the Muslim world.
It printed them next to articles urging Saudis to take action against Denmark where the cartoons first appeared.
Three weeks ago, Shams, became one of few newspapers in the Arab world to print some of the cartoons.
The paper, which is aimed at the country’s young people, said it was doing so to mobilise the campaign in Saudi Arabia against Denmark.
But whatever the motive behind it, the mere fact of publishing the cartoons does not seem to have gone down well with the authorities.
The newspaper previously published articles that went against the traditional ultra-conservative grain in Saudi Arabia such as women’s issues and entertainment. This may also had something to do with the decision to close the newspaper.
