The recent arson attack on Al-Jouf Literary Club and the text message death threat received by its chairman have received rotund condemnation from various figures from the region's literary scene. Former president of the literary club Eid Al-Sahu described the relations between the club and society at large as “excellent”, saying that the club provides for a variety of services required by the public and serves to encourage a “cultural and literary spirit”. “The arson attack was an odious act of hateful behavior which has a bad effect on the cultural movement, and whoever did it is misrepresenting the region and its level of culture,” Al-Sahu said. Club member Saleh Al-Sa'daoun said it was an “act of barbarism”, and in contradiction to the “Kingdom's program of dialogue”, while writer Thamer Al-Muhaisan said it represented an attack on “cultural organizations and cultural and literary enlightenment”. “We need to protect these organizations from any threat that holds up the reform movement,” Al-Muhaisan said. “It's gone beyond targeting organizations to targeting individuals themselves to fight thought and culture.” Al-Muhaisan said that anyone opposed to the activities of the club should refrain from threats or arson and turn to dialogue. “This is uncivilized behavior, and seeks to return the cultural movement back to the dark ages,” he said. In the week since last Sunday's arson attack – the second at the club in under a year – writers and officials have been forthright in their condemnations. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, described the fire and the death threat as “abominable and wrong”, and he was preceded by member of the Board of Senior Ulema and the Supreme Judicial Council Ali Bin Abbas Al-Hakami, who called the culprits “sinners” and said they deserved the “severest punishment”. Following them, two senior judges from Riyadh's Summary Court called the attack an “act of sabotage, crime and corruption in the land” and said that the culprits could face jail, lashes and public defamation or even beheading.
