Mauritanian Writer Faces Apostasy Charges

    Muhammad Cheikh Ould Muhammad, a Mauritanian writer imprisoned since January 2014, has recently been sentenced to death for apostasy. Perhaps the only thing that could parallel this unprecedented ruling is the statement of Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz following protests in Nouakchott demanding capital punishment for the 29-year-old blogger. Addressing angry protestors in Nouakchott, the president said: “Islam is above everything, above democracy and freedom.” The president’s remarks places “Islam” as a religion and existing social culture at odds with freedom and democracy. Freedom and democracy are cashed in as a newly-coined lexicon in daily politics and regarded by the president as impediment to the sovereignty of the divine rule. 
Though he was convicted of apostasy, Cheikh Ould Muhammad, who has been detained for over a year, denied the charges levelled at him. He added that he never meant to denigrate Prophet Muhammad but sought to criticize oppressive and unjust social traditions in an attempt at lifting the injustice suffered by his social class, the Blacksmiths, the dark-skinned Arabs who were former slaves.