Esra’a reports that her fellow Bahraini blogger, Mahmood, has been blocked by Bahrain’s Ministry of Information.
I never thought I’d see the day Mahmood’s Den, the most popular and informative blog in Bahrain (if not the entire Gulf), be blocked by our Ministry of Information because it has gotten away with a lot. But it’s confirmed now by Mahmood himself that it will happen in the very near future.
What a wonderful road to democracy we are taking!
If no one initiates a petition by tomorrow, I will start one. And hopefully, just like Saudi Jeans got unblocked due to an overwhelming amount of complaints, we can achieve the same difference.
Please help Mahmood spread the word about this horrible news, and suggest things we can do about it. I will make a button soon which everyone can plug into their sites demanding the unblocking of Mahmood’s Den and other blogs and websites, especially Bahrain Rights which has also been recently blocked.
Mahmood’s Den blocking order signed by the Minister of disInformation:
You might recall that in July, Israellycool was also banned in Bahrain. Fortunately, the site was quickly “unbanned” , thanks to Esra’a’s efforts. I truly hope that the same fate awaits Mahmood’s great blog.
Update: Bahrain have a history of banning websites, even those you would not expect. Take this BBC report from 2002:
Bahrain has banned the Arabic television channel Al Jazeera from reporting from inside the Gulf state, Information Minister Nabil al-Hamr said on Friday.
According to a news bulletin on the Qatar-based channel, Mr al-Hamr said the ban was being imposed because the station was biased towards Israel and against Bahrain.
—-Mr al-Hamr is said to have accused the station of being infiltrated by Zionists.
“We believe (Al Jazeera) is suspect and represents the Zionist side in the region. We will not deal with this channel because we object to its coverage of current affairs. It is a channel penetrated by Zionists,” he was quoted as saying.
