Freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia 322743 224711908 2008-07-10T02:07:17Z Sardanaphalus 427947 updating link using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] The Kingdom of [[Saudi Arabia]] is an [[Islam]]ic [[theocratic]] [[monarchy]] in which Islam is the official religion; the law requires that all Saudi citizens be Muslims. Religious freedom is virtually non-existent. The Government does not provide legal recognition or protection for freedom of religion, and it is severely restricted in practice. The public practice of non-Muslim religions is prohibited. As a matter of policy, the Government guarantees and protects the right to private worship for all, including non-Muslims who gather in homes for religious practice; however, this right is not always respected in practice and is not defined in law. Moreover, the public practice of non-Muslim religions is prohibited.<ref name=USSD2007>{{Citation |url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90220.htm |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Saudi Arabia |publisaher=U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |date=[[September 14]], [[2007]] |accessdate=[[2008-04-29]]}}</ref> The Saudi [[Mutaween]] ([[Arabic]]: '''مطوعين'''), or [[Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice]] (i.e., the religious police), enforces the prohibition on the public practice of non-Muslim religions. The Government claims to recognize the right of non-Muslims to worship in private; it does not always respect this right in practice.<ref>''"A Catholic Indian priest had just celebrated mass in a private house, when seven religious policemen (muttawa) broke into the house.... The Saudi religious police are well known for their ruthlessness; they often torture believers of other religions who are arrested. AsiaNews sources said there were around 400,000 Indian Catholics in Saudi Arabia who were denied pastoral care. Catholic foreigners in the country number at least one million: none of them can participate in mass while they are in Saudi Arabia. Catechism for their children – nearly 100,000 – is banned."'' [http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=5869 AsiaNews, April 10, 2006]</ref> == Religious demography == The country’s total land area is 756,981 square miles (1,960,572&nbsp;km² and before the recent land transfer to [[Yemen]]), and its population is approximately 27 million, of which an estimated 8 million are foreign workers. The foreign population includes approximately 1.5 million [[India]]ns, 1.5 million [[Bangladesh]]is, 1.2 million [[Filipino people|Filipinos]], 1 million [[Pakistan]]is, 1 million [[Moroccans]], 600,000 [[Indonesia]]ns, 400,000 [[Sri Lanka]]ns, 350,000 [[Nepal]]ese, 250,000 [[Palestinians]], 150,000 [[Lebanon|Lebanese]], 100,000 [[Eritrea]]ns, and 30,000 [[United States|Americans]]<ref name=USSD2007 /> Comprehensive statistics for the denominations of foreigners are not available, but they include Muslims from the various branches and schools of Islam, [[Christian]]s, [[Hindu]]s, [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], and [[Jew]]s. For example, the Embassy of the Philippines reports that over 90 percent of the Filipino community is Christian. A majority of Saudi citizens are [[Sunni Muslims]]. Within [[Sunni Islam]], the strict interpretation of [[Islam]] taught by the [[Salafi]] or [[Wahhabi]] school is the only officially recognized religion. A minority of citizens are [[Shia Muslims]], also called Shiites. They form around 15% of the native population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/10903/shiite_muslims_in_the_middle_east.html |title=Shia Muslims in the Mideast |author=Lionel Beehner |date=[[June 16]] [[2006]] |publisher=Council on Foreign relations |accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref> They live mostly in the eastern districts on the Persian Gulf ([[Qatif]], [[Al-Ahsa]], [[Dammam]]), where they constitute approximately three-quarters of the native population, and in western highlands of Arabia (districts of [[Jazan]], [[Najran]], [[Asir]], [[Medina]], [[Ta'if]], and [[Hijaz]]). There is no information regarding foreign missionaries in the country. [[Proselytizing]] by non-Muslims is not permitted.<ref name=USSD2007/> A Shiite student was even arrested for allegedly proselytizing other students in 2006.<ref name=USSD2007/> == Status of religious freedom == Saudi Arabia is an Islamic monarchy and the Government has declared the [[Qur'an]] and the [[Sunnah]] (tradition) of [[Muhammad]] to be the country’s Constitution. Freedom of religion is severely limited. Islam is the official religion. Under the law, children of male citizens are considered Muslim, regardless of the country or the religious tradition in which they have been raised.<ref name=USSD2007/> The Government prohibits the private and public practice of other religions. The Government bases its legitimacy on governance according to the precepts of the rigorously conservative and strict interpretation of the Salafi or Wahhabi school of the Sunni branch of Islam and discriminates against other branches of Islam. Neither the Government nor society in general accepts the concepts of separation of religion and state, and such separation does not exist. The legal system is based on [[Sharia]] (Islamic law), with Shari'a courts basing their judgments largely on a code derived from the Qur'an and the [[Sunnah]]. The Government permits Shi'a Muslims to use their own legal tradition to adjudicate noncriminal cases within their community. The only national holidays observed in Saudi Arabia are the two Eids, [[Eid ul-Fitr|Eid Al-Fitr]] at the end of [[Ramadan]] and [[Eid ul-Adha|Eid Al-Adha]] at the conclusion of the [[Hajj]]. While observance of the Shi'a holiday of [[Ashura]] is allowed in the eastern city of [[Qatif]], in other areas with large Shi'a populations, such as [[Al-Ahsa]] and [[Dammam]], the Shi'a religious practices are restricted.<ref name=USSD2007/> == Restrictions on religious freedom == [[Image:Christian Bypass.jpg|thumb|right|600px|"Non-Muslim Bypass:" Non-Muslims are barred from entering [[Mecca]]. An example of [[religious segregation]]..<ref>{{cite news |first=Yousseff |last=Ibrahim |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Assignment Forbidden To Some |url=http://www2.nysun.com/article/48233 |work= |publisher=[[New York Sun]] |date=2007-02-08 |accessdate=2008-04-27 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Pilgrimage presents massive logistical challenge for Saudi Arabia |url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/hajj/stories/logistics/index.html |work= |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=2001 |accessdate=2008-04-27 }}</ref>]] Islamic practice generally is limited to that of a school of the Sunni branch of Islam as interpreted by [[Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab]], an 18th century Arab religious reformer. Outside Saudi Arabia, this branch of Islam is often referred to as "[[Wahhabi]]," a term the Saudis do not use. The teachings of Abd al Wahhab are more often referred to by adherents as "Salafi" or "Muwahhidun," that is, following the earliest generations of Muslims (Salafi), or believers in the divine unity (Muwahhidun). Practices contrary to this interpretation, such as celebration of Muhammad's birthday and visits to the tombs of renowned Muslims, are discouraged. The spreading of Muslim teachings not in conformance with the officially accepted interpretation of Islam is prohibited. Writers and other individuals who publicly criticize this interpretation, including both those who advocate a stricter interpretation and those who favor a more moderate interpretation than the government's, reportedly have been imprisoned and faced other reprisals. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs supervises and finances the construction and maintenance of almost all [[mosque]]s in the country, although over 30 percent of all mosques in Saudi Arabia are built and endowed by private persons. The Ministry pays the salaries of [[imam]]s (prayer leaders) and others who work in the mosques. A governmental committee defines the qualifications of imams. The [[Committee to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice]] (commonly called "religious police" or Mutawwa'in) is a government entity, and its chairman has ministerial status. The Committee sends out armed and unarmed people into the public to ensure that Saudi citizens and expatriates living in the kingdom follow the Islamic mores, at least in public.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/09/news/saudi.php |title=Saudis struggle with conflict between fun and conformity |author=Michael Slackman |date=[[May 9]], [[2007]] |publisher=International Herald Tribune |accessdate=2008-01-20}} (page one of two pages)</ref> Foreign imams are barred from leading worship during the most heavily attended prayer times and prohibited from delivering sermons during Friday congregational prayers. The Government states that its actions are part of its "Saudiization" plan to replace foreign workers with citizens. Under Saudi law conversion by a Muslim to another religion is considered [[apostasy]], a [[Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia|crime punishable by death]] if the accused does not recant. Saudi Arabia prohibits public non-Muslim religious activities. Non-Muslim worshipers risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, [[deportation]], and sometimes torture for engaging in overt religious activity that attracts official attention. The Government has stated publicly, including before the U.N. Committee on Human Rights in Geneva, that its policy is to protect the right of non-Muslims to worship privately.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} However, non-Muslim organizations have claimed that there are no explicit guidelines for distinguishing between public and private worship, such as the number of persons permitted to attend and the types of locations that are acceptable.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} Such lack of clarity, as well as instances of arbitrary enforcement by the authorities, obliges most non-Muslims to worship in such a manner as to avoid discovery. Those detained for non-Muslim worship almost always are deported by authorities after sometimes lengthy periods of arrest during investigation. In some cases, they also are sentenced to receive lashes prior to deportation. The Government does not permit non-Muslim clergy to enter the country for the purpose of conducting religious services, although some come under other auspices and perform religious functions in secret. Such restrictions make it very difficult for most non-Muslims to maintain contact with clergymen and attend services. Catholics and Orthodox Christians, who require a priest on a regular basis to receive the sacraments required by their faith, particularly are affected. Proselytizing by non-Muslims, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as [[Bible]]s, is illegal. Muslims or non-Muslims wearing religious symbols of any kind in public risk confrontation with the Mutawwa'in. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, approximately 50 so-called "Call and Guidance" centers employing approximately 500 persons work to convert foreigners to Islam. Some non-Muslim foreigners convert to Islam during their stay in the country. According to official reports, 942 foreign workers converted to Islam in the past year. The press often carries articles about such conversions, including testimonials. The press as well as government officials publicized the conversion of the Italian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in late 2001. The Government requires noncitizen residents to carry a Saudi residence permit (Iqama) for identification in place of their passports.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1012.html |title=Consular Information Sheet - Saudi Arabia |publisher=U.S. Department of State |accessdate=2007-05-12}}</ref> Among other information, these contain a religious designation for "Muslim" or "non-Muslim." Members of the Shi’a minority are the subjects of officially sanctioned political and economic discrimination. The authorities permit the celebration of the Shi’a holiday of Ashura in the eastern province city of Qatif, provided that the celebrants do not undertake large, public marches or engage in self-flagellation (a traditional Shi’a practice). The celebrations are monitored by the police. In 2002 observance of Ashura took place without incident in Qatif. No other Ashura celebrations are permitted in the country, and many Shi’a travel to [[Qatif]] or to [[Bahrain]] to participate in Ashura celebrations. The Government continued to enforce other restrictions on the Shi’a community, such as banning Shi’a books. Shi’a have declined government offers to build state-supported mosques because they fear the Government would prohibit the incorporation and display of Shi’a motifs in any such mosques. The Government seldom permits private construction of Shi’a mosques. In March 2001, religious police reportedly closed a Shi’a mosque in Hofuf because it had been built without government permission. Members of the Shi’a minority are discriminated against in government employment, especially with respect to positions that relate to national security, such as in the military or in the Ministry of the Interior. The Government restricts employment of Shi’a in the oil and petrochemical industries. The Government also discriminates against Shi’a in higher education through unofficial restrictions on the number of Shi’a admitted to universities. Under the provisions of Shari’a law as practiced in the country, judges may discount the testimony of people who are not practicing Muslims or who do not adhere to the official interpretation of Islam. Legal sources report that testimony by Shi’a is often ignored in courts of law or is deemed to have less weight than testimony by Sunnis. For example, in May 2001, a judge in the eastern province ruled that the testimony of two Shi'a witnesses to an automobile accident was inadmissible.{{Fact|date=January 2007}} Sentencing under the legal system is not uniform. Laws and regulations state that defendants should be treated equally; however, under Shari’a as interpreted and applied in the country, crimes against Muslims may result in harsher penalties than those against non-Muslims. Observers believe that the new Criminal Procedure Law, passed in late 2001 and became effective on May 1, 2002, should give fairer treatment to all defendants. Customs officials routinely open mail and shipments to search for contraband, including non-Muslim materials, such as Bibles and religious videotapes. Such materials are subject to confiscation, although rules appear to be applied arbitrarily. Islamic religious education is mandatory in public schools at all levels. All public school children receive religious instruction that conforms with the official version of Islam. Non-Muslim students in private schools are not required to study Islam. No private religious schools are permitted for non-Muslims or for Muslims adhering to unofficial interpretations of Islam.<ref name=USSD2007/> In the westernized schools operated for Saudi [[Aramco]] employees the Islamic education is often a semi-annual introductory course, sometimes taught in conjunction with a brief historical outline of Christianity and Judaism.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} Saudi religious police recently detained Shiite pilgrims participating in the [[Haj]], allegedly calling them "[[kafir|infidels]] in Mecca"<ref name=beating/> == Saudi practices as "religious apartheid" == Saudi Arabia's treatment of religious minorities has also been described by both Saudis and non-Saudis as "[[apartheid]]" and "religious apartheid".<ref>Saudi Institute (2001).</ref> Testifying before the [[United States Congress|Congressional Human Rights Caucus]] on June 4, 2002, in a briefing entitled "Human Rights in Saudi Arabia: The Role of Women", Ali Al-Ahmed, Director of the Saudi Institute, stated: <blockquote>Saudi Arabia is a glaring example of religious apartheid. The religious institutions from government clerics to judges, to religious curricula, and all religious instructions in media are restricted to the [[Wahhabism|Wahhabi]] understanding of [[Islam]], adhered to by less than 40% of the population. The Saudi government communized Islam, through its monopoly of both religious thoughts and practice. Wahhabi Islam is imposed and enforced on all Saudis regardless of their religious orientations. The Wahhabi sect does not tolerate other religious or ideological beliefs, Muslim or not. Religious symbols by Muslims, [[Christianity|Christians]], [[Judaism|Jewish]] and other believers are all banned. The Saudi embassy in Washington is a living example of religious apartheid. In its 50 years, there has not been a single non-Sunni Muslim diplomat in the embassy. The branch of Imam Mohamed Bin Saud University in Fairfax, Virginia instructs its students that [[Shia Islam]] is a Jewish conspiracy.<ref>Congressional Human Rights Caucus (2002).</ref></blockquote> [[Amir Taheri]] quotes a Shi'ite businessman from [[Dhahran]] as saying "It is not normal that there are no Shi'ite army officers, ministers, governors, mayors and ambassadors in this kingdom. This form of religious apartheid is as intolerable as was apartheid based on race."<ref>Taheri (2003).</ref> Saudi religious police recently detained Shiite pilgrims participating in the [[Haj]], allegedly calling them "[[kafir|infidels]] in [[Mecca]]".<ref name=beating>{{cite news |url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=21680 |title=Saudi religious police accused of beating pilgrims |date=[[August 7]], [[2007]] |publisher=Middle east Online |accessdate=2007-08-21}}</ref> Until [[March 1]], [[2004]], the official government [[website]] stated that [[Jew]]s were forbidden from entering the country.<ref>[[United States Department of State]]. [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41731.htm Saudi Arabia], Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004, February 28, 2005.</ref> According to [[Alan Dershowitz]], "in Saudi Arabia apartheid is practiced against non-Muslims, with signs indicating that Muslims must go to certain areas and non-Muslims to others."<ref>Dershowitz (2002).</ref> On December 14, 2005, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[Ileana Ros-Lehtinen]] and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] Representative [[Shelley Berkley]] introduced a bill in Congress urging American divestiture from Saudi Arabia, and giving as its rationale (among other things) "Saudi Arabia is a country that practices religious apartheid and continuously subjugates its citizenry, both Muslim and non-Muslim, to a specific interpretation of Islam."<ref>[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.4543.IH: To express the policy of the United States to ensure the divestiture...] 109th CONGRESS, 1st Session, H. R. 4543.</ref> [[Freedom House]] showed on its website, on a page tiled "Religious apartheid in Saudi Arabia", a picture of a sign showing Muslim-only and non-Muslim roads.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060221180044/www.freedomhouse.org/religion/country/Saudi+Arabia/religious+apartheid+in+sa.htm Religious Apartheid in Saudi Arabia], [[Freedom House]] website. Retrieved July 11, 2006.</ref> According Saudi policy for tourists, it is not permissible to bring Christian or Jewish religious symbols and books into the kingdom and they are subject to confiscation<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1186557401034&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |title=Saudis might take Bibles from tourists |date=[[August 9]], [[2007]] |author=Michael Freund |publisher=The Jerusalem Post |accessdate=2007-08-21}}</ref> == 2006 Freedom House Report == According to [[Freedom House]]'s 2006 report,<ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/pdfdocs/KSAtextbooks06.pdf 2006 Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance]}} Report by Center for Religious Freedom of Freedom House. 2006</ref> : The Saudi Ministry of Education Islamic studies textbooks ... continue to promote an ideology of hatred that teaches bigotry and deplores tolerance. These texts continue to instruct students to hold a dualistic worldview in which there exist two incompatible realms – one consisting of true believers in Islam ... and the other the unbelievers – realms that can never coexist in peace. Students are being taught that Christians and Jews and other Muslims are "enemies" of the true believer... The textbooks condemn and denigrate Shiite and Sufi Muslims' beliefs and practices as heretical and call them "polytheists", command Muslims to hate Christians, Jews, polytheists and other "unbelievers", and teach that the [[Crusades]] never ended, and identify Western social service providers, media outlets, centers for academic studies, and campaigns for women's rights as part of the modern phase of the Crusades. == Forced religious conversion == Under the law, children of Saudi parents are considered Muslim, regardless of the county or the religious tradition in which they may have been raised. In some cases, children raised in other countries and in other religious traditions who came to Saudi Arabia or who were taken by their Saudi fathers to Saudi Arabia reportedly were coerced to conform to Islamic norms and practices; forcible conversion is prohibited. During 2007, there were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to return to the United States. <ref name=USSD2007/> On 3 September 1992 Sadiq 'Abdul-Karim Malallah was publicly beheaded in al-Qatif in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province after being convicted of apostasy and blasphemy. Sadiq Malallah, a Shi'a Muslim from Saudi Arabia, was arrested in April 1988 and charged with throwing stones at a police patrol. He was reportedly held in solitary confinement for long periods during his first months in detention and tortured prior to his first appearance before a judge in July 1988. The judge reportedly asked him to convert from Shi'a Islam to Sunni Wahhabi Islam, and allegedly promised him a lighter sentence if he complied. After he refused to do so, he was taken to al-Mabahith al-'Amma (General Intelligence) Prison in Dammam where he was held until April 1990. He was then transferred to al-Mabahith al-'Amma Prison in Riyadh, where he remained until the date of his execution. Sadiq Malallah is believed to have been involved in efforts to secure improved rights for Saudi Arabia's Shi'a Muslim minority.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=4FBA416ABC8805C2802569A600603109 |title=Saudi Arabia - An upsurge in public executions |publisher=Amnesty Intarnational |quote=On 3 September 1992 Sadiq 'Abdul-Karim Malallah was publicly beheaded in al-Qatif in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province after being convicted of apostasy and blasphemy. |accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref> == Anti-Semitism == See [[Arabs and anti-Semitism]] == See also == *[[Human rights in Saudi Arabia]] *[[Zakir Naik‎]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2402 Religious Freedom and the Middle East] at The [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] PolicyWatch *[http://www.salafimanhaj.com/pdf/SalafiManhaj_Saudi.pdf Does Saudi Arabia Preach Intolerance in the West?] * [http://www.cdhr.info Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia] * [http://www.persecution.org/newsite/countryinfodetail.php?countrycode=23 Saudi Arabia report] at [http://www.persecution.org/newsite/about.php International Christian Concern] *{{Citation |url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90220.htm |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Saudi Arabia |publisaher=U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |date=[[September 14]], [[2007]] |accessdate=[[2008-04-29]]}} {{Asia topic|Freedom of religion in}} {{Segregation by type}} [[Category:Religion in Saudi Arabia]] [[Category:Saudi Arabia articles needing attention]] [[Category:Saudi law]] [[Category:Human rights in Saudi Arabia]] [[Category:Status of religious freedom by country|Saudi Arabia]] [[es:Limitación de la libertad religiosa en Arabia Saudí]] [[fr:Religion en Arabie saoudite]]