Muawiyah held for provocative post

Controversial Omani blogger Muawiyah Al Rawahi has been detained after he wrote an antagonistic post, which has been removed since his arrest. According to sources, Muawiyah, who has in the past written explosive blogs criticizing the government, leaders, religion and policies, was detained by the security agencies last Saturday and since then hasn't returned. The blogosphere in Oman is abuzz with speculations about the whereabouts of Muawiyah although there are few who expressed sympathy for the controversial blogger. Muawiyah, who has been very open in expressing himself, has courted controversies since the time he began blogging. The fearless journalist turned blogger had apparently written, in his now erased post, about his experience working in the security agencies, his childhood abuse and his sexual encounters. He criticised the ruler of Oman and also the Muslim faith in general. In 2009, he waded into controversy by outright asking for alcohol to be made available freely to Omanis. In Oman, citizens can consume alcohol at hotels and bars and non-Muslims can obtain permits to buy alcohol at liquor shops. There were over 1000 posts on a local forum criticizing his demand to make alcohol available for Omanis and some had even asked administrators to block his postings on the forum.