Do Unto Others...
The West permits and even
encourages Islam,
while in Saudi Arabia and
other Islamic countries the Christian faith Is mercilessly proscribed.
DAVID FORBES examines this
disparity in treatment
IN THE January/February and March/April
1993 editions of Prophecy Today we reported on the severe restrictions
imposed on expatriate Christians living and working in Saudi Arabia.
They are not only banned
by law from having church buildings, but also forbidden to participate in
any form of Christian worship, even privately in their own homes.
Furthermore, all Bibles, Christian literature and tapes, along with
objects such as crosses and devotional materials are strictly prohibited.
Any foreign Christian caught infringing these regulations is liable to
punishment and deportation, while any indigenous Christian who has
converted from Islam is subject to the death penalty.
The London-based
International Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity (IISIC),
has recently drawn attention to the glaring difference in the way in which
Muslims are treated in the West with regard to religious freedom and the
treatment given to Christians in countries such as Saudi Arabia (IISIC
Bulletin, August/September 1993).
The Times
in its issue for 27 April 1993 published an article by writer and
broadcaster
Bernard Levin in which he
also raised the issue of the persecution of Christians in Saudi Arabia.
Subsequently the paper published a letter from Mr Omar AI-Hassan, the
former Arab League ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1983,
challenging the truthfulness of Mr Levin’s article and daring him to
provide proof of his allegations concerning ‘the discrimination against
and maltreatment of Christians living in Saudi Arabia’.
Mr Hassan, describing
himself as a moderate Muslim, stated in his letter, ‘As far as I am aware,
Christians In Saudi Arabia enjoy an equal standing In society with the
Muslims, and have equal access to the comforts of life available in the
country, as long as they respect its laws.’ The IISIC asks, ‘How accurate
is Mr AI-Hussan’s perception of the status of Christians In Saudi Arabia?’
AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL
in May 1993 published a report which stated that more than three hundred
Christians, including women and children, have been arrested in Saudi
Arabia since 1991 solely for the ‘crime’ of conducting the peaceful
expression of belief in Jesus Christ. They have been detained in prison,
normally without having been tried or even charged, and many of them have
been flogged and tortured.
There is the now famous
case of the two Filipino pastors who were due to be hanged on Christmas
day 1992 and finally reprieved and deported as a result of international
pressure on the Saudi government.
Currently, there is
concern about the fate of another pair of Filipino pastors, Florencio
Madriaga and Roque Atilon, who were arrested in November 1992 when serving
their fellowship in Al Kharj near Riyadh, and who are now thought to be
serving a two-year sentence in the Al-Hair prison. Their alleged crime is
organising a church.’
There has been a concerted
and determined effort by the Saudi religious police to clamp down on the
various expatriate Christian fellowships, and they have targeted the
leaders of these fellowships for arrest, to be followed by either
deportation or imprisonment.
According to Christian
Solidarity International, the Christian human rights group, the campaign
has been successful in closing down virtually all the expatriate
fellowships, and believers are reduced to meeting in twos and threes for
Bible study and prayer.
‘What does all this say to
Omar AlHassan’s assertion that Christians enjoy an equal standing in
Saudi society with Muslims and are not discriminated against or
maltreated?’ asks the IISIC.
 SAUDI
LAW
clearly prevents Christians from freely practising their religion. The
Minister for Information, Ali ben Hassan, recently told the French
newspaper Le Figaro that the Saudi government regrets’ that
it cannot tolerate churches within her borders, since this is ‘a
commandment from Allah.’
The IISIC Bulletin
then recounts how much religious freedom is given to Saudi
Muslims, and indeed to all followers of Islam, in the West. It asks two
pertinent questions: ‘What is the situation of Saudi Muslims in western
countries?’ and, ‘Do they suffer the same restrictions and harassment as
Christians in Saudi Arabia?’
There is certainly no
equivalent prohibition on the building and maintaining of places of
worship in western Europe, including Britain, and North America has many
hundreds of mosques where public worship is freely pursued.
There is also no
prohibition on the importing, printing, selling or possession of the Koran
or any other Islamic religious material. Islamic mission is openly
allowed, as is the teaching of Islam in universities, along with the
creation of Islamic institutes.
King Fahd, the Saudi
Arabian monarch, has recently been able to provide $5 million for the
establishment of a centre for the study of Islamic law in the Harvard
University Law School in the United States. This donation will enable an
endowed professorship to be set up entitled ‘The Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques,’ as well as a research fund for the academic study of the Islamic
legal system.
In France, the first
Islamic theological school in Europe has been opened in Saint-Leger-de-Fougeret,
175 miles south of Paris, while in England, Prince Charles has recently
agreed to become a patron of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies which
was set up in 1985 as an associated institution of the University of
Oxford.
‘IF MUSLIMS
are free to establish
Islamic places of worship and centres of learning within the West, why
cannot Saudi Arabia reciprocate with similar freedoms for Christians
within her borders?’, asks the IISIC. Perhaps the time is now right for
Christians to be asking the authorities here in Britain about the contrast
in religious freedom in the two countries.
In a letter last year to
this writer, Mr Douglas Hogg, the Minister of State at the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, wrote, ‘As I have explained in my letters to others
who have expressed concern about the situation regarding Christian worship
in Saudi Arabia, we and our European partners discuss human rights with
the Saudi authorities, including freedom of worship. The Saudis can be in
no doubt about the strength of our views on these important issues. We
believe that careful and regular explanation of our views on freedom of
worship and other human rights is the most appropriate and effective
course.’
Last autumn, in his
capacity as a patron of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Prince
Charles, in a speech to an audience containing many high-ranking Muslims,
spoke about the need for understanding and respect between peoples of
different religions.
In a subsequent letter to
Prince Charles, the Rev Tony Higton, a member of the General Synod of the
Church of England wrote, ‘Our…great concern is that your speech omitted
reference to persecution of Christians by Islamic states, including those
not regarded as fundamentalist. Yet you spoke of “begging” General
Schwarzkopf to protect Muslim shrines during the Gulf War. But the troops
who went to defend the Arab states were not allowed to celebrate
Christmas.
‘As the future Defender of
the Faith, this persecution of Christians will be a most important issue
on your agenda. For example, in many countries (including some in the
Commonwealth), a person converting from Islam to Christianity can face
imprisonment, torture and even death. That is a gross infringement of
human rights. There have even been massacres of Christians in recent years
in some Muslim-dominated countries or regions.
‘May we respectfully urge
you to use your influence in countries like Saudi Arabia. Whilst you
rightly call for respect and religious freedom for Muslims, the Saudis
forbid church buildings, any form of Christian worship (public or
private), Bibles and Christian literature or other Christian objects.
‘Amnesty International
reports that over 300 Christians, including women and children, have been
arrested there since 1991, simply for the peaceful expression of their
faith. Many have been tortured.
‘Also Dr Abdullah Naseef,
Deputy Chairman of the Saudi Consultative Council, has called for the
execution of non-Muslims who refuse to repent of their rejection of Islam.
‘Finally, as Vice Patron
of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, would it not be possible for you
to encourage Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to sponsor a Centre for
Christian Studies in Saudi Arabia?’ As yet we do not know how the Prince
of Wales has replied.
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