Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which imposes an official religion on the entire population. All
citizens of Saudi Arabia must be Muslim. Non-Muslims are allowed to enter Saudi Arabia only if they are
oil workers, or foreign diplomats. Otherwise it is almost impossible for a non-Muslim to obtain a visa to
enter Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Government website threatens non-Mulims with jail or deportation if they
fail to respect Muslim traditions, including ramadan or drinking alcohol in public. The few non-Mulims that
live in Saudi Arabia are regularly threatened and harrassed by extremist vigilantes, which are supported by
the Saudi government. Non-Muslims are not allowed to drive on certain roads or to be present in certain
cities or areas in which the government considers ‘holy’. Oil workers and foreign diplomats in Saudi Arabia
typically do not leave their neighborhoods or work areas out of fear of being arrested or attacked. A
non-Muslim can be subject to death if he/she steps foot on what is considered a ‘holy site’.
Saudi Arabia
Religious Atmosphere:
93.4% of this country’s people are Muslim with 79% being Sunni, and the remaining 13.4% being Shiâ
€™ite. Hindus make up 0.7% while Buddhists make up 0.5% and non-religious/others make up 1.4%.
Christians make up 4% of the population but 98% of the Christian population are expatriates. The
sacredness of the area to Muslims makes for a rather strict and harsh attitude towards non-Muslims and
their religious activities.
Extremist Groups:
There are reports of religious vigilante groups who harass non-Muslims. The attitude and stance of the
government likely gives these groups personal justification for their activities.
Government:
Islam is the state religion and all citizens must be Muslims. The government believes it has a sacred
responsibility as the guardian of the two holiest shrines of Islam, Mecca and Medina. As a result, they desire
to remove all non-Muslim influences. Towards this end, they have formed the Mutawwa’in, the religious
police.
      Â
Public and private practice of any non-Muslim religion is restricted. Non-Muslims can be arrested, lashed,
or deported for any religious activity that attracts the attention of the government.
       Â
The wearing of non-Muslim religious symbols is restricted.      Â
The printing, possession, importing, or distribution of any non-Muslim religious material is banned.
          Â
In April of 2000 Prince Turki ibn Muhammad Saud Al-Kabir, the assistant undersecretary for political
affairs in the Foreign Ministry, announced at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva that the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will form two human rights bodies, one independent and the other under the
government. These bodies will investigate allegations of torture, monitor the implementation of human rights
codes, and acquaint the public to the concept of human rights.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which imposes an official religion on the entire population. All
citizens of Saudi Arabia must be Muslim. Non-Muslims are allowed to enter Saudi Arabia only if they are
oil workers, or foreign diplomats. Otherwise it is almost impossible for a non-Muslim to obtain a visa to
enter Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Government website threatens non-Mulims with jail or deportation if they
fail to respect Muslim traditions, including ramadan or drinking alcohol in public. The few non-Mulims that
live in Saudi Arabia are regularly threatened and harrassed by extremist vigilantes, which are supported by
the Saudi government. Non-Muslims are not allowed to drive on certain roads or to be present in certain
cities or areas in which the government considers ‘holy’. Oil workers and foreign diplomats in Saudi Arabia
typically do not leave their neighborhoods or work areas out of fear of being arrested or attacked. A
non-Muslim can be subject to death if he/she steps foot on what is considered a ‘holy site’.
Saudi Arabia Arrests 40 Christians for Praying
Riyadh – Saudi Arabia has detained 40 Pakistani Christians for holding prayers at a house in the
Muslim kingdom, where practicising any religion other than Islam is illegal, newspapers said on
Saturday.
A group of men, women and children were attending the service in the capital Riyadh when police raided
the house, Al Jazirah newspaper said.
It said authorities also found Christian tapes and books.
Another Saudi daily, Al Yaum, said the raid took place on Friday while a Pakistani preacher was
delivering a sermon. It was not clear what measures might be taken against the group.
Saudi authorities were not immediately available to comment.
There are around six million foreigners in the conservative kingdom, which has a population of 23 million,
including many Christians from Europe, North America, Asia and other Arab states.
In a rare official rebuke of a close ally last year, Washington accused Saudi Arabia of severe violations of
religious freedom.
“Freedom of religion is not recognized or protected under the country’s laws and basic religious
freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam,”
the State Department said in an annual report.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, which were carried out by mainly Saudis, the Gulf Arab state’s
religious establishment came under sharp criticism by the West for fostering militancy and intolerance of
other religions.
Saudi Arabia Blocks Religious Websites
The website of Abiding Faith Lutheran Church of Fort Worth, Texas, has little content on it other than a list
of service times, directions, and a brief statement of faith. Nevertheless, the government of Saudi Arabia
has prohibited its citizens from viewing the page.
…
For two weeks in May, researchers from Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society surfed the
Web using Saudi Arabia’s servers to simulate Internet use in the country. The purpose was to identify
specific Web pages blocked by the government’s Internet Services Unit (ISU). The results show that the
nation filters sites about religion, politics, women, health, pop culture, and more.
“A look at the list beyond sexually explicit content yields some insight into the particular areas the Saudi
government appears to find most sensitive,” the report says. “The Saudi government maintains an active
interest in filtering non-sexually explicit Web content for users within the kingdom.”
…
“That government seems to view tolerance, understanding, and cooperation as great religious
evils,” Bruce Robinson, coordinator and webmaster for ReligiousTolerance.org, told CT. “On the other
hand, the Saudi censorship does not surprise us. Theirs is a closed society, with few religious freedoms,
and restricted human rights.”
Christian sites are not the only religious websites blocked by Saudi Arabia. The study found 45 Islamic
sites that are also restricted. In fact, Jochen Katz, webmaster of Answering-Islam.org, says the government
has also blocked the site’s main Islamic opponent, Islamic-Awareness.org.
From Wikipedia.org
Saudi Arabia forbids missionary work by any religion other than Islam. Officially all religions other than
Islam are banned and churches are not allowed. Unofficially the government acknowledges that many of
the foreign workers are Christian and on Aramco civilian compounds, foreign Christians are generally
allowed to worship in private homes or even hold services at local schools provided that it is not spoken of
in public. This is a degree of unofficial tolerance that is not given to Judaism, or Atheism.
In theory, the government can search the home of anyone and arrest or deport foreign workers
for owning religious icons and symbols, i.e. a Bible, or rosary. Yet, this generally does not occur on
the Aramco compounds and the most common policy for foreign Christians is similar to the United
States Armed Forces policy for homosexuals (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell). The government tolerates
the presence of Christian workers as long as they remain discreet and in the closet.
“Freedom of religion does not exist,” the U.S. State Department’s 1997 Human Rights Report
on Saudi Arabia states. “Islam is the official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims. The
government prohibits the public practice of other religions.” “It is absurd to impose on an individual or a
society rights that are alien to its beliefs or principles,” Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz declared at
the U.N. Third Millennium summit in New York City, New York on 6 September.
Foreigners must conform to local practices in public. Conservative dress is expected, especially for women
who travel to rural areas. Shops and restaurants close five times a day for prayer, and public displays of
foreign religious or political symbols are not tolerated. During Ramadan eating, drinking, or smoking
in public during daylight hours is prohibited. Foreign schools are often required to teach a yearly
introductory segment on Islam.
Saudi Jailed for Discussing Bible
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) — A court sentenced a teacher to 40 months in prison and 750
lashes for “mocking religion” after he discussed the Bible and praised Jews, a Saudi newspaper
reported yesterday.
Al-Madina newspaper said secondary-school teacher Mohammad al-Harbi, who will be flogged in
public, was taken to court by his colleagues and students.
He was charged with promoting a “dubious ideology, mocking religion, saying the Jews were
right, discussing the Gospel and preventing students from leaving class to wash for prayer,” the
newspaper said.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, strictly upholds the austere Wahhabi school of Islam and bases its
constitution on the Koran and the sayings of the prophet Muhammad. Public practice of any other
religion is banned.
….
A 2003 report by the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom, the world’s only government-sanctioned
entity to investigate and report religious-freedom violations, named Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest
violator of religious liberties.
The commission took the country to task for “offensive and discriminatory language” disparaging Jews,
Christians and non-Wahhabi Muslims found in government-sponsored school textbooks, in Friday
sermons preached in prominent mosques, and in state-controlled Saudi newspapers.
…
In Saudi Arabia, the public practice of any religion other than Islam is illegal; only Muslims can
be Saudi citizens; one of the Saudi king’s titles is “custodian of the two holy mosques”;
proselytizing for any religion other than Sunni Islam is barred; and Mecca, Islam’s holy city, is
forbidden to all non-Muslims.
For years, Saudi Arabia also imposed restrictions, or persuaded the U.S. government to
impose restrictions, on American troops defending the country during and after then-Iraqi dictator
Saddam Hussein’s 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait.
For example, U.S. postal and customs officials have barred mailing materials “contrary to the Islamic
faith,” including Bibles. The U.S. military also has required female service members to wear a long, black
robe called an abaya when traveling off base in Saudi Arabia. Both regulations were rescinded or clarified
after public outcry based on reporting in the U.S. media.
Saudi Oppression of non-Muslims
Highway sign in Saudi Arabia
From Persecution.org
Saudi Arabia
Religious Atmosphere:
93.4% of this country’s people are Muslim with 79% being Sunni, and the remaining 13.4% being Shiâ
€™ite. Hindus make up 0.7% while Buddhists make up 0.5% and non-religious/others make up 1.4%.
Christians make up 4% of the population but 98% of the Christian population are expatriates. The
sacredness of the area to Muslims makes for a rather strict and harsh attitude towards non-Muslims and
their religious activities.
Extremist Groups:
There are reports of religious vigilante groups who harass non-Muslims. The attitude and stance of the
government likely gives these groups personal justification for their activities.
Government:
Islam is the state religion and all citizens must be Muslims. The government believes it has a sacred
responsibility as the guardian of the two holiest shrines of Islam, Mecca and Medina. As a result, they desire
to remove all non-Muslim influences. Towards this end, they have formed the Mutawwa’in, the religious
police.
      Â
Public and private practice of any non-Muslim religion is restricted. Non-Muslims can be arrested, lashed,
or deported for any religious activity that attracts the attention of the government.
       Â
The wearing of non-Muslim religious symbols is restricted.      Â
The printing, possession, importing, or distribution of any non-Muslim religious material is banned.
          Â
In April of 2000 Prince Turki ibn Muhammad Saud Al-Kabir, the assistant undersecretary for political
affairs in the Foreign Ministry, announced at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva that the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will form two human rights bodies, one independent and the other under the
government. These bodies will investigate allegations of torture, monitor the implementation of human rights
codes, and acquaint the public to the concept of human rights.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which imposes an official religion on the entire population. All
citizens of Saudi Arabia must be Muslim. Non-Muslims are allowed to enter Saudi Arabia only if they are
oil workers, or foreign diplomats. Otherwise it is almost impossible for a non-Muslim to obtain a visa to
enter Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Government website threatens non-Mulims with jail or deportation if they
fail to respect Muslim traditions, including ramadan or drinking alcohol in public. The few non-Mulims that
live in Saudi Arabia are regularly threatened and harrassed by extremist vigilantes, which are supported by
the Saudi government. Non-Muslims are not allowed to drive on certain roads or to be present in certain
cities or areas in which the government considers ‘holy’. Oil workers and foreign diplomats in Saudi Arabia
typically do not leave their neighborhoods or work areas out of fear of being arrested or attacked. A
non-Muslim can be subject to death if he/she steps foot on what is considered a ‘holy site’.
Saudi Arabia Arrests 40 Christians for Praying
Riyadh – Saudi Arabia has detained 40 Pakistani Christians for holding prayers at a house in the
Muslim kingdom, where practicising any religion other than Islam is illegal, newspapers said on
Saturday.
A group of men, women and children were attending the service in the capital Riyadh when police raided
the house, Al Jazirah newspaper said.
It said authorities also found Christian tapes and books.
Another Saudi daily, Al Yaum, said the raid took place on Friday while a Pakistani preacher was
delivering a sermon. It was not clear what measures might be taken against the group.
Saudi authorities were not immediately available to comment.
There are around six million foreigners in the conservative kingdom, which has a population of 23 million,
including many Christians from Europe, North America, Asia and other Arab states.
In a rare official rebuke of a close ally last year, Washington accused Saudi Arabia of severe violations of
religious freedom.
“Freedom of religion is not recognized or protected under the country’s laws and basic religious
freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam,”
the State Department said in an annual report.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, which were carried out by mainly Saudis, the Gulf Arab state’s
religious establishment came under sharp criticism by the West for fostering militancy and intolerance of
other religions.
Saudi Arabia Blocks Religious Websites
The website of Abiding Faith Lutheran Church of Fort Worth, Texas, has little content on it other than a list
of service times, directions, and a brief statement of faith. Nevertheless, the government of Saudi Arabia
has prohibited its citizens from viewing the page.
…
For two weeks in May, researchers from Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society surfed the
Web using Saudi Arabia’s servers to simulate Internet use in the country. The purpose was to identify
specific Web pages blocked by the government’s Internet Services Unit (ISU). The results show that the
nation filters sites about religion, politics, women, health, pop culture, and more.
“A look at the list beyond sexually explicit content yields some insight into the particular areas the Saudi
government appears to find most sensitive,” the report says. “The Saudi government maintains an active
interest in filtering non-sexually explicit Web content for users within the kingdom.”
…
“That government seems to view tolerance, understanding, and cooperation as great religious
evils,” Bruce Robinson, coordinator and webmaster for ReligiousTolerance.org, told CT. “On the other
hand, the Saudi censorship does not surprise us. Theirs is a closed society, with few religious freedoms,
and restricted human rights.”
Christian sites are not the only religious websites blocked by Saudi Arabia. The study found 45 Islamic
sites that are also restricted. In fact, Jochen Katz, webmaster of Answering-Islam.org, says the government
has also blocked the site’s main Islamic opponent, Islamic-Awareness.org.
City Limites
A Mosque in Rome? Sure. A non-Muslim in Mecca? No.
BY JONATHAN V. LAST
If you judge by the pictures, the Makkah Hilton is a nice place to stay. There’s just one catch, as the Web
site notes. The five-star hotel “is exclusively sited within the Holy City which, by national and religious law,
is only accessible to visitors of the Muslim Religion.”
This law is something of a singularity among major religions, because it isn’t merely the Grand Mosque that
is off-limits to nonbelievers, the way, for instance, a Mormon Temple is. It’s a city–a major city with
hotels, supermarkets, schools and a population of 1.2 million people. (The city of Medina, population
700,000, also forbids non-Muslims.)
What are the roots of this apartheid? The Koranic revelations were given to the prophet
Muhammed in Mecca, which was then a pagan place. Soon after, he left Mecca and traveled to
Medina, where he assembled an army, returning to conquer Mecca in A.D. 630. “The Prophet
then ordered, on the basis of what he said was God’s command to him, that the environs around
Mecca should only be for Muslims,” explains Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a professor of Islamic studies at
George Washington University.
The custodians of Islam take the ban seriously, and they have constructed a large apparatus to
keep infidels out. In “The Saudis,” Sandra Mackey’s account of living in Saudi Arabia several
years ago, she recalls trying to drive near Mecca (with her husband at the wheel, of course):
“Billboard-size blue and white signs in both Arabic and English appeared along the road, warning
non-Moslems to turn back.” She saw religious authorities and Saudi policemen “lounging in a
small wooden building adjacent to the road.” Eventually, “we were forced off the road by one of
the angry policemen.” She was fined about $100 and turned away. (What’s the penalty for actually
being caught inside Mecca? The Saudi embassy refused to return calls.)
Ali Al-Ahmed, executive director of the Washington-based Saudi Institute, explains that these posts
“check your religion, basically.” He notes that, “if you’re a Saudi, of course, there is no problem. But if you
aren’t, your ID says what your religion is.” If you’re wondering why it’s not a problem if you’re a Saudi,
Ms. Mackey explains it best by quoting a passage from a Saudi hotel directory: “Islam is the official
religion of Saudi Arabia. Churches of other religious denominations do not exist in the kingdom.”
Mr. Nasr has a more benign view. When traveling to Mecca, drivers are stopped at a toll station,
he explains (the city has no airport): “Somebody comes forward and looks and says, ‘Are you all
Muslims?’ And the people will say ‘yes’ and they’ll say, ‘Go on.’” But “if the authorities become
suspicious because someone doesn’t look like a Muslim, they’ll say, ‘Recite the first chapter of
the Koran’ or some such thing which all Muslims know by heart.”
The ban sometimes creates logistical woes. Companies that rely on skilled workers often resort to using
auxiliary offices outside the city. Ms. Mackey tells of the building of a hotel designed by a Western
architect. The Saudis refused to allow him into the city and, she writes, “insisted that he stand on a hill
outside of town and direct the work through a telescope.”
Curious, daring souls have, of course, run the blockade for a long time. In the 19th century, a handful of
Orientalists disguised themselves as dervishes and made their way inside, the most notable being John
Lewis Burckhardt and Sir Richard Burton, who wrote of their experiences. (In 1917, T.E. Lawrence
snuck in for the sole purpose, it seems, of buying a gold dagger from a particular merchant.)
Even today, there are ways around the barrier. Occasionally nonbelievers will surreptiously enter the city in
the company of Muslim friends. One Muslim confides: “I have some Christian friends who have visited
Mecca in the last few years–also a Jewish friend.”
Officially, the U.S. is unfazed by this state-sponsored segregation. A State Department official tells me
that, while “Saudi Arabia is a candidate for designation as a ‘country of particular concern’ under the
International Religious Freedom Act,. . . the most acute problems that non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia face
concern the almost virtual prohibition on engaging in their own worship. We are not aware of many
demands by non-Muslims to visit Islamic holy sites.”
But even at the State Department, the ban rankles. “Every religion needs to have its own freedom of
assembly and be able to protect the integrity of its holy places,” said one State Department expert. “But it’s
just absurd that it goes to these great lengths. . . . Even if you don’t care about lofty ideals like religious
freedom or openness, we’re starting to see some real connections between religious intolerance and
terrorism.”
In 1995, incidentally, Saudi money funded the building of an enormous, $50 million mosque in Rome, just
a stone’s throw from St. Peter’s Square.