Saudi man arrested, accused of blasphemy
Employees reported him to police after man said he was the ‘highest lord’
Manama: A Saudi man is being held on charges of blasphemy after he insisted that he was the highest lord.
The man, a section head in a shopping mall in Jeddah, was reported to the police by eight employees after he repeatedly told them that he was the highest lord and that they had to obey all his orders.
The employees said that they were shocked when their new director told a general meeting upon his appointment that he was the highest lord. The man, in his 30s, said that he was aware that the words he uttered were very delicate and could mean dismissal from work and even worse, but he added that he did not care, Saudi news site Sabq reported on Monday.
A request by the eight employees who approached him afterwards to advise him to be more cautious and avoid uttering blasphemous expressions was seemingly ignored, and one week later at another meeting, he said that he was the supreme lord and that his orders had to be followed thoroughly.
The employees said when they reminded him that he was blaspheming, he reportedly scorned them. They added that the shock and the attack on their religion prompted them to report him to the authorities who have launched an investigation.
In the Quran, the expression “I am your most high lord” was used by Pharaoh after he gathered the sorcerers and his armies.
