Here’s influential Saudi Sheikh Nasser Al-Omar crying (yes, crying) on TV while calling for the king to have him executed:

(WaPo) — Hamza Kashgari had no idea the firestorm sending out a few candid tweets about the prophet Muhammad would cause.

The Saudi blogger, reflecting last week on the upcoming anniversary of the prophet’s birth, wrote, in part: “On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you’ve always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you.”

Fast forward one week, and Kashgari, 23, has deleted his Twitter account and been forced to fleet the country to Southeast Asia. Leading clerics are calling his for his execution. The king has issued a warrant for his arrest. Islamists continue to show up at his home address in Saudi Arabia, which was posted on YouTube, and at the mosque he attended. A Facebook group demanding Kashgari’s execution is more than 10,000 members strong.

“I’m afraid, and I don’t know where to go,” Kashgari told the Daily Beast.

Kashgari had also written: “I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more.”

In a video posted to YouTube, Saudi Sheikh Nasser Al-Omar is shown weeping as he pleads with the king to execute Kashgari for writings he calls “shameful.”

Saudi Sheik Al-Qarni sent out a similar message, demanding revenge against Kashgari in another video that appeared on YouTube.