Amid Waves of Progress, Why is Saudi Scared of 'Moderate' Cleric Salman al-Ouda?

His only crime was saying, "Ya Allah make our heart as one"

That is how one Twitter account described the continued detention of Saudi cleric Salman al-Ouda, one month on from his arrest.

Al-Ouda was one of several public figures detained by the Saudi authorities in an apparent crackdown on opposition in September.

With a Twitter following of 14.3 million, al-Ouda is a dissident figure who has considerable populist appeal.

This much is clear from responses to the hundreds of responses to the hashtag #a_month_since_the_arrest_of_Sheikh_al-Ouda

Independent Saudi researcher, Mohanna Alhubail, tweeted: "All political arrests are hurtful and go against conscience, but the arrest of this imam, who inspires thought [about] Islamic life is a double distress."

He added: "I consider the targeting of Sheikh Al-Awda's safety a global event, because he is a thinker and an advocate of religious and social reform, and he is not easily replaced in the Arab world".

The arrest of intellectuals and preachers because of differences in views threatens the intellectual security of society and brings on hostilities and hatred towards the state.

The nation does not want independent writers or clerics or activists, but only [wants]; yes-men and hypocrites! Is that not how nations are built?

The hashtag was launched after al-Ouda's son, Abdallah, tweeted that "we have not heard anything at all from him since the moment of his arrest, and we don't know about the state of his health."

One account, "Prisoners of Conscience" claimed that al-Ouda "a symbol of the moderate Islamic trend in Saudi Arabia", was "arrested by force" and "without a judicial order".

Media reports have suggested that al-Ouda was targeted for a tweet indicating his support for the resolution of the diplomatic row between Saudi Arabia and its neighbor Qatar.

But the cleric has a long history of opposition to the Saudi regime. He spent five years in prison between 1994 and 1999 for inciting rebellion against the monarchy.

Then considered a "hard-line conservative activist", he was praised by Osama bin Laden in the 1990s.

However, al-Ouda continued to be a thorn in the side of the Saudi authorities after his opinions underwent a liberal shift in 2011.

Drawing inspiration from the Arab spring, for which he offered an isolated voice of support in Saudi Arabia, he began to advocate for democracy and civil tolerance.

In response to his outspoken views, the Saudi authorities had previously prohibited al-Ouda from television appearances and foreign travel.

Not fazed, al-Ouda last year went as far as to suggest that homosexuality should not be punished, in an interview with Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan. In Saudi Arabia, those found guilty of homosexuality can be subjected to the death penalty

"Homosexuals are not deviating from Islam," he said."Homosexuality is a grave sin, but those who say that homosexuals deviate from Islam are the real deviators.

"By condemning homosexuals to death they are committing a graver sin than homosexuality itself."

Active on Snapchat as well as Twitter, this 'social media star' has also promoted racial tolerance, and criticized the practice of polygamy, common in Saudi Arabia.

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Al-Ouda is popular among many for his independence of opinion in a country where many religious officials are paid to follow the official line.

However, not everyone is convinced by his turnaround in views and some, including Arab liberals and secularists, continue to view him as an extremist Islamist thinker.

Others see him as a self-serving attention seeker, and accuse him of insulting the royal family that continues to be widely popular in Saudi Arabia.

Whoever uses religion for his personal advantage should receive the most extreme punishment, so what about someone who uses it to battle his own state, and to rock its security?

Al-Ouda's continued detention, along with the heavy-handed security response to planned "September 15 Movement" protests last month, have sent a clear message that the Saudi monarchy will not tolerate opposition.