Saudis are well-known for their Twitter campaigns. In the past, feminist hashtags such as “Saudi women demand the end of [male] guardianship” and “the time has come for women’s driving” have sparked fierce debate in the ultra-conservative kingdom. Even a push for men to give up their seats on public transport saw Tweeters clash heads.
However, the latest online movement originating from the Gulf nation has proved much less controversial.
#WeDemandPublicLibrariesForReading took off earlier this week, and saw many Saudis relieved that at last there was something they could all agree on:
#نطالب_بمكتبات_عامه_للقراءه Finally, they demanded something constructive and useful
— آش.عمرو (@Ash3mro) February 11, 2017
#نطالب_بمكتبات_عامه_للقراءه finally a trend I can get behind
— Noura (@LanaTurnter) February 11, 2017
Finally!! I found a tag which I can support!!
— | (: (@xd_1918) February 11, 2017
It's a fantastic idea! We really want that!! #نطالب_بمكتبات_عامه_للقراءه
It seems that Saudi Arabia’s libraries are largely neglected, and are in dire need of an injection of funding. Saudi bookworms are certainly keen to see thriving libraries in their country:
#نطالب_بمكتبات_عامه_للقراءه
— وليد الظفيري (@WaleedDhafeeri) February 11, 2017
القراءة غذاء الروح وصمام الأمان من الجهل
فهي تزيل الصدأ من بعض العقول
نطمح بجيل جديد خالي من ثقافة ام رقيبه ! pic.twitter.com/pQDkfyhR4D
Reading is food for the soul and a safety valve against ignorance. It removes the rust from [our] minds. We aspire to a new generation free from the culture of "Um Raqiba" (a camel-racing competition)
#نطالب_بمكتبات_عامة_للقراءة
— فلسفة (@block_2017) February 11, 2017
القراءة عالم وحياة أخرى نريد ان تعيشها فهي غذاء للعقل وارتقاء للفكر ولكن تنقصنا الأماكن المهيئة ونطالب بوجودها.
Reading is a whole other world and life, which we want to live. [Reading] is food for the mind, and improves our thoughts. However, we lack appropriate places [to read], and we demand that they be established.
One individual used her defence of libraries to make a veiled attack on the country’s General Entertainment Authority, which recently proposed reopening cinemas, in a move which received a swift rebuke from the religious authorities.
#نطالب_بمكتبات_عامه_للقراءه
— Ashi . (@I2shiii) February 11, 2017
حقيقي حاجه نبغاها بقوة
بدال التفاهات من الحفلات الغنائيه و السينما وغيرها، ثقف الشعب و حببهم في القراءه.
We truly need to strongly attack them: Instead of trivialities like singing concerts, cinemas and so on, make your people cultured and make them like reading!
This tweeter even suggested that opening public libraries could be a temporary solution to increasing youth employment in Saudi Arabia, which has been facing economic problems related to the falling price of oil.
الشباب العاطل لا يجد مكان مناسب لقضاء الوقت فالقراءة حل مفيد لانارة العقول و المكتبات العامة متنفس مسلي #نطالب_بمكتبات_عامة_للقراءة
— سلهـَآآمة العيْـن ~ (@al3eyo0on) February 11, 2017
The unemployed youth cannot find a suitable place to spend their time - reading is a useful solution for enlightening minds and public libraries are an outlet for enjoying oneself.
Still, it just would not be a Saudi hashtag without a little bit of disagreement…
اولا الاغلبية ليس عنده حب القراءه ومن يريد القراءه لا ينتظر المكتبات يشتري الكتب ويقرأ في اي مكان #نطالب_بمكتبات_عامه_للقراءه
— ابو نايف (@abonaifn) February 11, 2017
First, most people don’t like reading. And people who want to read don’t wait for libraries, they go out, buy books and read them anywhere.
It is not clear whether the Saudi authorities are likely to take heed of this latest Twitter campaign. Last year, a coffee shop which allowed customers to sit and read from their selection of books was shut down by police, under the pretext of its failure to officially register his business. However, critics suggested that it was a form of censorship on the part of a highly conservative state.
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