Middle East Focus: Saudi King Boycotts Iranian Leader on the Web: Khamenei to Retaliate Posthumously………

Arabia Deserta

Saudi King Boycotts Iranian Leader on the Web: Khamenei to Retaliate Posthumously………

Rattlesnake Ridge

BFF

“Iranian news websites report that Saudi Arabia has blocked the official website of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which is available in a dozen languages, including Arabic. "Shafaf" says Khamenei's website was blocked by Saudi officials ahead of his sermons for Friday Prayers on February 3, parts of which the Iranian leader delivered in Arabic. The hard-line "Shafaf" website posted a screenshot of the page it claims Saudi users get when they try to access Khamenei's website. The website claims Saudi officials decided to block Khamenei's official website because of what it described as Iran's influence on the "Islamic awakening." Iranian officials have been using the term as part of their efforts to put their own stamp on the Arab Spring uprisings ………..”

So the Saudi king will not be able to browse the thoughts of Ayatollah Khamenei. The Saudis were upset by his use of the term “Islamic Awakening”: he may be right because they all end up with Islamic regimes, but not the Iranian type. But I am not sure the term “awakening” is the right one to use here. We shall see.
Maybe the king's advisers were worried that he would start beating his chest, then rush to book a flight to Karbala. (You never know what kings can do when they are in the mood; look at Henry VIII and he wasn't even an old king or an old goat, just a middle-aged one).
As retaliation, Khamenei may decide to block the website of Saudi King Abdullah, whenever he gets one (i.e. posthumously). That would deprive him of much of the wisdom of Shaikh Al Al Al Shaikh, mufti and ‘hami el-diyar (in Arabic).
Iran is not a beacon of free speech either. The Iranians also block many websites, possibly more than Saudi Arabia blocks. Case closed.
Cheers
mhg

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com