"I have … conversations with my Saudi colleagues. They are not ignorant of how the world is changing," said Powell

WASHINGTON, January 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – In a move likely to foment tension with Riyadh, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended that Secretary of State Colin Powell name Saudi Arabia a "country of particular concern," opening the possibility of diplomatic or economic sanctions, reported a leading American newspaper Saturday, January 18.

The Washington Post quoted John Hanford, the U.S. ambassador for religious freedom, as saying that adding Saudi Arabia to the list of "particular concern" was "something that we're going to have to consider very seriously."

It quoted Rep. Tom Lantos as claiming that the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act requires the move.

Adopting the same viewpoint, Rep. Frank R. Wolf alleged the kingdom "clearly ought to be named."

Last month, Senator John McCain sponsored the same position by urging Powell to declare the kingdom a "major violator of religious freedom," said the newspaper.

He alleged the designation of Saudi Arabia would be a "strong symbolic statement of America's larger concern about the denial of basic freedoms in this country and the region.

"It would demonstrate in a responsible, measured, but powerful way," McCain claimed, "that under President Bush, America's policy towards this region is indeed changing in many ways."

The Washington Post quoted Tom Malinowski, director of Human Rights Watch's Washington office, as voicing concern over not naming Saudi Arabia as a country of particular concern.

"I fear that a failure to name them would be read by the Saudis as a sign that their special relationship with the United States protects them from the kind of scrutiny that every country in the world gets. That doesn't strike me as the best way to encourage progress," Malinowski claimed.

State Department Favors Behind-the-Scene Approach

In its October report on global religious practices, the State Department claimed that "freedom of religion does not exist (in Saudi Arabia)."

But, according to the Washington Post, the State Department is discussing a strategy that would favor private diplomacy over public confrontation with Saudi officials.

Some officials in the State Department say it would be better to work behind the scenes with the Saudis and give them a chance to improve their record before designating them a country of concern.

"The behind-the-scenes approach is practical, reasonable ways for moving forward," the daily quoted one State Department official as saying.

Such steps could include a project to revise Saudi textbooks or encourage the Saudi government to furnish unadorned buildings for non-Muslim religions, he added.

"It's definitely a lose-lose proposition. You're either violating your own principles, or you're uselessly annoying a friend," Freeman warned

"We are not going to march in and say, 'You have to adopt the First Amendment to the American Constitution.' This is tough for the Saudis," the Post quoted the official as saying.

Powell, in an interview, said he has made no decision to name Saudi Arabia a country of particular concern.

He referred to recent administration speeches emphasizing the importance of human liberty, and said "every nation's going to have to find a way there, because the world is changing.

"I have these conversations with my Saudi colleagues. They are not ignorant of how the world is changing. They are not ignorant of the need to make the most out of the people power that they have. How they go about it and how they move forward is something that we discuss with them, but they will have to find their own path," he added.

Striking a discordant voice to the proposed move, Chas Freeman, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said that enforcing the U.S. religious freedom law on Saudi Arabia was not in the interest of the U.S.

The Saudis were unlikely to take significant steps, particularly if they were forced, he said.

"It's definitely a lose-lose proposition. You're either violating your own principles, or you're uselessly annoying a friend," Freeman warned.

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have had a close strategic partnership since the Second World War.

But for several months the relationship has been marked by mistrust and misunderstanding, especially with American claims that 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the Sept. 11 attacks on Washington and New York were Saudi citizens.