Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom released a new
report exposing the dissemination of hate propaganda in America by the government of Saudi
Arabia.
The 89-page report, “Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Invade American
Mosques,” is based on a year-long study of over two hundred original documents, all
disseminated, published or otherwise generated by the government of Saudi Arabia and
collected from more than a dozen mosques in the United States.
The propagation of hate ideology by Saudi Arabia is known to be worldwide, but its
occurrence within the United States has received scant attention until now. Within
worldwide Sunni Islam, followers of Saudi Arabia’s extremist Wahhabi ideology are a
distinct minority, as is evident by the millions of Muslims who have chosen to make
America their home and are upstanding, law-abiding citizens and neighbors.
The report concludes that the Saudi government propaganda examined reflects a
“totalitarian ideology of hatred that can incite to violence,” and the fact that
it is “being mainstreamed within our borders through the efforts of a foreign
government, namely Saudi Arabia, demands our urgent attention.” The report finds:
“Not only does the government of Saudi Arabia not have a right – under the First
Amendment or any other legal document – to spread hate ideology within U.S. borders,
it is committing a human rights violation by doing so.”
Such publications that “advocate an ideology of hatred have no place in a nation
founded on religious freedom and toleration,” write James Woolsey, chairman of the
board of Freedom House, in the foreword to the report.
Among the key findings of the report:
Various Saudi government publications gathered for this study, most of which are in
Arabic, assert that it is a religious obligation for Muslims to hate Christians and Jews
and warn against imitating, befriending, or helping them in any way, or taking part in
their festivities and celebrations;
The documents promote contempt for the United States because it is ruled by legislated
civil law rather than by totalitarian Wahhabi-style Islamic law. They condemn democracy as
un-Islamic;
The documents stress that when Muslims are in the lands of the unbelievers, they must
behave as if on a mission behind enemy lines. Either they are there to acquire new
knowledge and make money to be later employed in the jihad against the infidels, or they
are there to proselytize the infidels until at least some convert to Islam. Any other
reason for lingering among the unbelievers in their lands is illegitimate, and unless a
Muslim leaves as quickly as possible, he or she is not a true Muslim and so too must be
condemned. For example, a document in the collection for the “Immigrant Muslim”
bears the words “Greetings from the Cultural Attache in Washington, D.C.” of the
Embassy of Saudi Arabia, and is published by the government of Saudi Arabia. In an
authoritative religious voice, it gives detailed instructions on how to “hate”
the Christian and Jew: Never greet them first. Never congratulate the infidel on his
holiday. Never imitate the infidel. Do not become a naturalized citizen of the United
States. Do not wear a graduation gown because this imitates the infidel;
One insidious aspect of the Saudi propaganda examined is its aim to replace traditional
and moderate interpretations of Islam with extremist Wahhabism, the officially-established
religion of Saudi Arabia. In these documents, other Muslims, especially those who advocate
tolerance, are condemned as infidels. The opening fatwa in one Saudi embassy-distributed
book, published by the Saudi Air Force, responds to a question about a Muslim preacher in
a European mosque who taught that it is not right to condemn Jews and Christians as
infidels. The Saudi state cleric’s reply rebukes the Muslim cleric: “He who
casts doubts about their infidelity leaves no doubt about his.” Since, under Saudi
law, “apostates” from Islam can be sentenced to death, this is an implied death
threat against the tolerant Muslim imam, as well as an incitement to vigilante violence;
Sufi and Shiite Muslims are viciously condemned;
For a Muslim who fails to uphold the Saudi Wahhabi sect’s sexual mores (i.e. through
homosexual activity or heterosexual activity outside of marriage), the edicts published by
the Saudi government’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs, and found in American mosques
advise, “it would be lawful for Muslims to spill his blood and to take his
money;”
Regarding those who convert out of Islam, the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs explicitly
asserts, they “should be killed;”
Saudi textbooks and other publications in the collection, propagate a Nazi-like hatred for
Jews, treat the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion as historical fact, and avow that
the Muslim’s duty is to eliminate the state of Israel;
Regarding women, the Saudi publications instruct that they should be veiled, segregated
from men and barred from certain employment and roles;
The report states: “While the government of Saudi Arabia claims to be
‘updating’ or reforming its textbooks and study materials within the Kingdom,
its publications propagating an ideology of hatred remain plentiful in some prominent
American mosques and Islamic centers, and continue to be a principal resource available to
students of Islam within the United States.”
The research, translation and principle analysis of the materials for the report were
carried out by both Muslims and non-Muslims who wish to remain anonymous for reasons of
security. Some 90 percent of the publications are in Arabic; two independent translators
reviewed each Arabic document. This project was undertaken after many Muslims requested
the Center’s help in exposing Saudi extremism in the hope of freeing their
communities from ideological strangulation.
http://www.freedomhouse.org
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RIYADH April 2005 - Saudi Arabia has detained 40 Pakistani Christians for holding prayers
at a house in the Muslim kingdom, where practicing any religion other than Islam is
illegal. 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 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 Sept. 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.
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April 25, 2005 Kingdom’s Religious Wrongs The religious tyranny in Saudi Arabia is
not just Saudis’ business.
Before boarding his flight to Crawford to meet with President Bush, Saudi Arabia’s
Crown Prince Abdullah presided over the arrest of 40 Pakistani Christians. Their crime?
The Pakistanis were caught praying in a private home in the capital Riyadh in violation of
the state’s strictly enforced religious law that bans all non-Muslim worship.
As the State Department has determined, there is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia and
everyone there, Muslim or not, must obey the rules of the extreme sharia of the
kingdom’s established religion, the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. The Saudi state
indoctrinates its nationals from an early age in the Wahhabi ideology of zero tolerance
for the “other.” Government textbooks and publications teach that it is a
religious obligation for Muslims to hate Christians and Jews and warn against imitating,
befriending, or helping them in any way, or taking part in their festivities and
celebrations. The state teaches a Nazi-like hatred for Jews, treats the forged Protocols
of the Elders of Zion as historical fact, and avows that the Muslim’s duty is to
eliminate the state of Israel.
Though the persecution of the Pakistani Christians is a dramatic example, they and the
other non-Muslims among the quarter of the kingdom’s population who are foreign
workers are not the only ones to suffer from the denial of religious freedom. Saudi
Arabia’s nationals, by law Muslim, find that a broad range of their freedoms are
limited because of the state’s monopoly on religious expresssion.
For example, Muslims who follow the Sufi and Shiite traditions are viewed as heretical
dissidents and viciously condemned and discriminated against by the state. Regarding those
who convert out of Islam, the Saudi ministry of Islamic affairs explicitly asserts in
publications Freedom House has acquired, they “should be killed.” Muslims who
object to even particular tenets of Wahhabism, such as advocates of greater religious
tolerance, also are viewed as the “other” and condemned as “infidels.”
Under Saudi law, such “blasphemers” and “apostates” from Islam can be
sentenced to death.
Political reformers, too, are crushed on religious grounds. Three Saudi professors have
now languished for over a year in prison after proposing that the country adopt a written
constitution. Among other charges, their terminology was denounced as un-Islamic or
“Western.” State publications condemn democracy itself as un-Islamic. They
instill contempt for America because the United States is ruled by “infidel”
legislated law, rather than Wahhabi-style Islamic law.
A direct consequence of there being no religious freedom is that every Saudi woman is
forced by the state to conform to Wahhabi religious edicts restricting dress,
transportation, movement, due-process rights, and the ability to participate in civic
life.
The expansion of civil and political freedoms in the kingdom, therefore, hinges on
religious freedom.
Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks — and the discovery that two thirds of the hijackers
were Saudis — Saudi state ideology has become a matter of U.S. national security. As
bad as it is that Wahhabism is Saudi Arabia’s state religion, even worse is that it
is the Saudi government’s aim to propagate it and have it replace traditional and
moderate interpretations of Islam worldwide, including within the United States. Earlier
this year, Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom released a report based on a
year-long study of the radically intolerant Wahhabi ideology contained in documents
spread, published, or otherwise generated by the government of Saudi Arabia and found in
the United States.
In one example, a publication for the “Immigrant Muslim” bearing the words
“Greetings from the Cultural Department” of the embassy of Saudi Arabia in
Washington, D.C., gave detailed instructions on how to “hate” the Christian and
Jew: Never greet them first. Never congratulate the infidel on his holiday. Never imitate
the infidel. Do not become a naturalized citizen of the United States. Do not wear a
graduation gown because this imitates the infidel. The opening fatwa of another a book
distributed by the embassy that was published by the Saudi air force responds to a
question about a Muslim preacher in a European mosque who taught that it is not right to
condemn Jews and Christians as infidels. The Saudi state cleric’s reply emphatically
rebukes the Muslim cleric: “He who casts doubts about their infidelity leaves no
doubt about his.”
Within worldwide Sunni Islam, followers of Saudi Arabia’s extremist Wahhabi ideology
remain a distinct minority. This is evident from the millions of Muslims who have chosen
to make America their home and are upstanding, law-abiding citizens and neighbors. It was
just such concerned Muslims who first brought these publications to the attention of
Freedom House. They did so in the hope of “freeing their communities from ideological
strangulation.”
The Saudi state’s propagation of Wahhabi extremism is more than hate speech; it is a
totalitarian ideology of hatred that can incite to violence. The fact that this ideology
is being mainstreamed within our borders through the efforts of a foreign government
demands President Bush’s urgent attention in today’s conversations with Prince
Abdullah. With his remarkable State of the Union address that challenged Saudi Arabia to
democratize, the president turned a new page in U.S. policy. Some in American policy
circles argue that religious freedom, however, is too sensitive to raise. It's too
important not to; the first topic on the president’s agenda should be the expansion
of religious freedom in the kingdom — for Muslims, as well as the captive Christians.
By Nina Shea director of Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom.
National Review Online http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/shea200504250752.asp
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