Eman Al Nafjan, who blogs as Saudiwoman, has written about yesterday's non-protest in the kingdom. While making some familiar points about the authorities' efforts to quash any demonstrations before they could happen, she argues that uncertainty about who exactly was behind the call for protests may have been a more important factor.

She writes: "Even Saudis who considered participating said they would sit out the first day, just to gauge whether those coming out were reformists or anti-monarchists, so as to not be associated with the latter."

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 12 March 2011.