_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Saudi
Arabia_______________
Roundup of Christians
Religious liberty not acknowledged
The Christian community in Saudi Arabia continues to suffer from restrictions on their religious freedom. According to the humanitarian organization Middle East Concern, eight Christians were arrested in a police roundup this summer.
In Jeddah, between August 19 and 20, six Christians—all foreign guest workers—were picked up and taken to jail by security agents. All those taken into custody are accused of professing the Christian religion. One of those arrested is identified in his passport as a Muslim. (According to local sources, he converted to Christianity while in Saudi Arabia.) He is therefore considered an apostate of Islam. He faces the death penalty for this “crime.”
According to the association Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the police roundup was aimed at learning the names of Saudis connected to the Christians. The foreign guest workers resident in Saudi Arabia number about 6 million. Among those there are about 600,000 Christians of diverse nationalities (Filipinos, Sri Lankans, South Koreans, Indians, Americans, Europeans, Lebanese, and Africans). Besides constituting the largest non-Muslim group, the Christians are the best organized of the clandestine prayer groups. For this reason, they are also the favorite target of the Saudi authorities. Considered sacred Muslim territory, Saudi Arabia does not permit the followers of other religions to construct their own places of worship or to hold religious services in private.
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