RIYADH,
September 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The United
States has for the first time listed Saudi Arabia as a country of
particular concern over religious freedom, in an usual censure that
could lead to sanctions against Washington’s key Middle East
oil-rich ally.
In
its annual report on religious freedom released Wednesday, September
15, the State Department included the kingdom for the first time on a
category carrying a special designation: “countries of particular
concern,” or CPCs.
The
list of these countries could be subject to US sanctions because of
religious intolerance, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Attempts
at getting an official Saudi government reaction were hindered by the
fact that Thursday is the first day of the weekend in the kingdom, as
per AFP.
Saudi
local media mostly ignored the report, which was released late
afternoon Wednesday local time.
Only
Al-Watan referred to the report, saying it “claimed that
there is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia.”
No
Religious Freedom
The
report by the US Commission of International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF) worked to list Saudi Arabia among countries breaching
religious freedom.
It
claimed that Saudi Arabia is backing anti-Jewish and anti-Christian
campaigns, torturing non-Muslims and discriminating against Muslims,
mostly from the Shiite sect, who did not adhere to the officially
sanctioned Wahhabi doctrine.
US
ambassador for religious freedom John Hanford said Saudi Arabia, where
Islam was the official religion and “all citizens must be
Muslims,” had no religious freedom.
“There
were frequent instances in which mosque preachers, whose salaries were
paid by the government, used violent anti-Jewish and anti-Christian
language in their sermons,” he said.
Non-Muslim
worshippers also risked detention, imprisonment, lashing, deportation
and sometimes torture, he added.
“But
the sort of issues which concerned us most, frankly, had to do with
the treatment of Muslims in Saudi Arabia,” Hanford said, adding that
“Shiite Muslims suffer the most” with a number of their leaders
facing arrest.
But
he praised statements by Saudi ruler Crown Prince Abdullah in support
of tolerance and moderation.
Unusual
Rebuke
Riyadh,
a pivotal US ally in the Middle East, has come under constant
criticism for violating religious freedom, but Washington had been
reluctant so far to add it to its blacklist.
Observers
say the report could add more pressures on Saudi Arabia, the world’s
leading oil producer and exporter, amid fears prices of oil could hit
50 dollars a barrel with the approaching winter.
Others
expect the threat of sanctions could be a new bid for getting more
concessions from Riyadh.
Hanford
said the administration has had discussions with the Saudis on
religious freedom and plans more.
He
said school textbooks have been revised to take out inflammatory
statements against non-establishment religious groups.
Despite
these improvements, he said the Saudis have not done enough to escape
the CPC designation.
"Our
existing partnerships have flourished in numerous capacities and they
are just one of the best ways for us to encourage our friends to adopt
tolerant practices," US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said.
It
similarly assailed France, China and Belgium – three staunch
opponents to the invasion and occupation of Iraq – for impediments
to religious practice.
Last
June, the independent USCIRF strongly urged the State Department to
move against Saudi Arabia.
Others
Blacklisted
 |
|
John Hanford
|
Other
newcomers to the list were Eritrea and Vietnam. Carried over from last
year's list were Myanmar, China, Iran, North Korea and Sudan.
Vietnam
was included for the first time, joining the other three Asian nations
which have been on the list for several years, much to the chagrin of
their governments.
The
Chinese government was accused in the report of repressing Tibetan
Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, Catholics faithful to the Vatican,
underground Protestants, and the Falungong sect.
Many
religious believers in China “are imprisoned for their faith, and
others continue to face detention, beatings, torture and the
destruction of places of worship,” US ambassador for religious
freedom John Hanford said.
Hanford
said North Korea might have the largest religious prisoner population
in the world.
“Credible
reports indicate that religious believers, particularly Christians,
often face imprisonment, torture or even execution for their faith,
Hanford said. “It's a very different situation,” he said.
In
Vietnam, at least 45 religious believers remain imprisoned, including
members of the Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Hoa Hao and Cao Dai
faiths, the report said.
US
law mandates that the State Department issue an annual report on the
status of religious freedom around the world.
