There is no legal recognition of, or protection under the law for, freedom of religion,
and it is severely restricted in practice. The country is a monarchy and the King
is both head of state and government. The legal system is based on the government's
official interpretation of Shari'a (Islamic law). Sunni Islam is the official religion.
The Government confirmed that, as a matter of public policy, it guarantees and protects
the right to private worship for all, including non-Muslims who gather in homes
for religious services. However, this right was not always respected in practice
and is not defined in law. Moreover, the public practice of non-Muslim religions
is prohibited, and mutawwa'in (religious police) continued to conduct raids of private
non-Muslim religious gatherings. Although the Government also confirmed its policy
to protect the right to possess and use personal religious materials, it did not
provide for this right in law, and the mutawwa'in sometimes confiscated the personal
religious material of non-Muslims.
There were no reports available on societal abuses or discrimination based on religious
affiliation, belief, or practice.
While overall government policies continued to place severe restrictions on religious
freedom, there were incremental improvements in specific areas during the period
covered by this report, such as better protection of the right to possess and use
personal religious materials; sporadic efforts to curb and investigate harassment
by the mutawwa'in; increased media reporting on, and criticism of, the mutawwa'in;
somewhat greater authority and capacity for official human rights entities to operate;
and limited education reform. In addition, there were larger public and private
celebrations of Shi'a holidays in the Qatif oasis of the Eastern Province.
There were also several positive developments in government policy that, if fully
implemented, could lead to important improvements in the future. The Government
reiterated its policy to halt the dissemination of intolerance and combat extremism,
both within Islam and toward non-Muslim religious groups, in the country and abroad.
For example, officials advised that they were monitoring sermons at government-supported
mosques and would dismiss or retrain imams whose preaching promoted religious extremism.
The Government continued to state its goal of "balanced development," by promising
greater infrastructure development in predominantly Shi'a and Isma'ili areas of
the Eastern and Najran Provinces. Most significantly, this year saw the beginning
of an interfaith dialogue process, led by King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
The King, along with the support of the Muslim World League, sponsored an intrafaith
dialogue in Mecca between June 4-6, 2008, bringing Sunnis and Shi'a together, and
at the end of the reporting period, was planning to hold a similar conference in
Madrid, Spain, in July, bringing together Christians, Jews, Muslims, and adherents
of other faiths.
The King's official title is "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques." As such, upholding
Islam within the country is regarded as one of his and his government's paramount
functions. In addition, the conservative religious establishment exerts significant
pressure on the state and society to adhere to the official interpretation of Islam
and conservative societal norms. Moreover, there is intense pressure within the
society to conform accordingly. However, while the majority of citizens support
a government and society based on Shari'a, there are varying views among the citizenry
on how it should be interpreted and implemented.
Despite this diversity of views, the Government continued to enforce its official
interpretation of Sunni Islam. Non-Muslims and Muslims who do not adhere to this
interpretation faced significant political, economic, legal, social, and religious
discrimination, including limited employment and educational opportunities, underrepresentation
in official institutions, and restrictions on the practice of their faith and on
the building of places of worship and community centers. There were also charges
of harassment, abuse, and killings at the hands of the mutawwa'in, or religious
police, who work for the Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice (CPVPV).
These incidents caused many non-Muslims to worship in fear of, and in such a manner
as to avoid discovery by, the police and mutawwa'in. There were also concerns about
Saudi textbooks that continued to contain overtly intolerant statements against
Jews and Christians and subtly intolerant statements against Shi'a, Isma'ilis, and
other religious groups, notwithstanding government claims that it was reviewing
educational materials to remove or revise such statements. Furthermore, while government
officials stated prospective and current teachers who espoused extremist religious
views would be screened out or dismissed, and some screenings reportedly did take
place, there were multiple incidents where teachers, in defiance of Saudi government
policy, promoted intolerant views in the classroom without being disciplined. Discriminatory
and intolerant statements were also made by public officials and government-paid
imams.
Senior U.S. officials discussed a number of key policies concerning religious practice
and tolerance with the Government, as well as specific cases involving the infringement
of the right of religious freedom. In November 2006, the U.S. Secretary of State
re-designated Saudi Arabia as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for violations
of religious freedom, and the Government was issued a waiver of sanctions "to further
the purposes of the Act."
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the Al-Saud family. The population
is 28.2 million, including 5.8 million foreigners. Since 2005, King Abdullah bin
Abd Al Aziz Al-Saud has ruled under the title Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,
a reference to his responsibility for Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina.
The government bases its legitimacy on its interpretation of Shari'a (Islamic law)
and the 1992 Basic Law. The Basic Law sets out the system of governance, rights
of citizens, and powers and duties of the government. The law also provides that
the Koran and the Traditions (Sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad serve as the country's
constitution. In 2005 the country held male only elections on a nonparty basis for
half the members of municipal councils, the first elections for any government position
since 1963. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces.
During the year the following significant human rights problems were reported: no
right to change the government peacefully; beatings; judicially sanctioned corporal
punishment; impunity, particularly on the part of the religious police; denial of
public trials and lack of due process in the judicial system; political prisoners;
incommunicado detention; restrictions on civil liberties such as freedoms of speech
(including the Internet), assembly, association, movement, and severe restrictions
on religious freedom; corruption; and lack of government transparency. Violence
against women and discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, sect, and ethnicity
were common. The sponsorship system limited the rights of foreign workers and remained
a severe problem.
Improvements during the year included: increased publicly available information
concerning specific instances of official corruption or of government action against
corruption; no reports that authorities confiscated personal religious materials
from individuals at ports of entry; and a process developed by the government for
prenuptial agreements when the wife is a noncitizen, permitting her to travel without
her husband's permission.
Freedom of Religion 2008
The Basic Law states that Islam is the official religion. All citizens are expected
to adhere to Islamic principles. The legal system is based on the government sanctioned
version of Shari'a. Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy,
and persons accused of apostasy face physical abuse and threats of execution unless
they recant. There have been no confirmed reports of sanctioned executions for apostasy
since 1992, but in the late 1990's there were reports of prisoners who were beaten
to death by government authorities for refusing to recant their alleged apostasy.
There is no legal recognition or protection of religious freedom, and it was severely
restricted in practice. The government limited the practice of all but the officially
sanctioned version of Islam, limiting the public practice of Muslim sects other
than Sunni Islam and prohibiting the public practice of, profession of, or possession
of literature and symbols relating to other religions. The government stated that
as a matter of public policy it protects the right to private worship for all, including
non Muslims who gather in homes for religious services. This right was not always
respected in practice and is not defined by law.
The public practice of non Muslim religions is prohibited. Although the government
stated its policy to protect the right to possess and use personal religious materials,
it did not provide for this right by law.
In contrast to similar incidents in recent years, the government reversed its decision
to deport foreign Christians arrested for conducting a worship service in incidents
in April in the Western Province and in May in Qassim Province.
In June there were reports from Al-Khobar that authorities closed three Shia mosques
that had been operating for years. Sunni mosques continued to operate freely and
without government harassment.
The law criminalizes blasphemy. On March 31, a court sentenced Sabri Bogday, a Turkish
barber, to death after two men reported to the authorities that he blasphemed God
and the Prophet Muhammad in his barbershop. On May 1, an appellate court upheld
his conviction of blasphemy. At year's end the sentence had not been carried out.
Citizens and especially foreigners were occasionally accused of believing in or
practicing "magic," "superstition," and "sorcery." Under the government's interpretation
of Shari'a, magic was regarded as one of the worst forms of polytheism, and is a
capital offense. Unlike the previous year, there were no reports of executions of
individuals convicted of magic.
In February HRW appealed to the king to stop the execution of Fawza Falih Muhammad
Ali, who was arrested in 2005 and accused of witchcraft. There was reportedly weak
evidence and the court followed highly irregular procedures. Her case was transferred
to the Royal Court in January. At year's end she remained imprisoned and in poor
mental health. In November 2007 police officers in Taif arrested a Nigerian woman
for alleged witchcraft. No further information was available concerning either case
at year's end.
In October the press reported that an appeals court confirmed the sentence of a
Sudanese "sorceress" to three years' imprisonment, 1,500 lashes, and deportation.
During the year there were fewer reports of government officials confiscating religious
materials and no reports that customs officials confiscated religious materials
from travelers, whether Muslims or non-Muslims. Individuals were able to bring personal
Bibles, crosses, DVDs of sermons, and other religious materials into the country
without difficulty.
There were fewer reported religious police raids on religious gatherings in the
Western Hijaz region and in the Eastern Province. In addition there were reports
of large public and private celebrations of Shia holidays in Qatif. Government restrictions
on celebration of Shia holidays differed by region.
For example, the January Ashura holiday in Qatif was marked by a greater number
of commemorations and participants than in past years and less security presence.
In addition there was wider practice of ritual self-flagellation, a practice the
government had previously sought to discourage.
In contrast, in other areas with large Shia populations such as al-Ahsa and Dammam,
authorities continued to restrict Shia religious practices. The government imposed
restrictions on public observances of Ashura in these and other areas where both
Shia and Sunni live. Authorities banned public marches, loudspeaker broadcasts of
clerics' lectures from Shia community centers, and in some instances, gatherings
within the centers. There were reports that these measures were applied strongly
in al-Ahsa, where the local governor allegedly gathered approximately 30 Shia community
leaders two weeks before the Ashura celebration to warn them against public celebrations.
It was not clear if this action was expressly anti-Shia or designed to prevent conflict
in mixed areas. In addition, security forces patrolled the streets of al-Ahsa to
ensure that there were no banners or flags, which are associated with the religious
holiday.
In February the government reportedly prohibited the public celebration of the Shia
Arbaeen religious holiday in all areas except the majority Shia area in Qatif.
On June 22, authorities arrested a prominent Shia sheikh in al-Ahsa after he called
a previous anti-Shia statement by 22 Salafi clerics an incitement to violence and
demanded greater rights and political representation for the Shia of al-Ahsa. Authorities
detained the sheikh for one week.
On October 13, the Web site Al-Rasid reported that authorities arrested Shia rights
activist Farid al-Nemer as he returned from Bahrain. He was allegedly arrested and
detained for five or six days for his antigovernment and pro-Shia activities.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs (MOIA) took measures to reduce extremist rhetoric
in sermons. On February 22, Okaz newspaper reported that the MOIA appointed 1,500
people to monitor sermons in mosques and the activities of imams across the country.
According to the article, a leading MOIA official fired some imams due to violations
of MOIA regulations. On April 28, Al-Watan reported that the Jeddah branch of the
MOIA had summoned a number of imams and khateeb (those who deliver a sermon during
Friday prayer) for questioning related to their deviation from MOIA directions intended
to prevent the preaching of extremist ideologies.
On October 17, the Saudi Gazette reported that Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh
Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh stated that imams were free to address modern issues
in their sermons but within limits. He stated that imams are not permitted to defame
countries, people, or organizations, and that imams have the role of correcting
misconceptions and counteracting deviant thought.
The government did not officially permit non Muslim clergy to enter the country
for the purpose of conducting religious services, although some did enter under
other auspices, and the government generally did not disrupt discreet religious
functions. Such restrictions made it difficult for most non Muslims to maintain
contact with clergymen and attend services but did not prevent them from gathering
to practice their faith. Proselytizing by non Muslims, including the distribution
of non Islamic religious materials such as Bibles, was illegal. Anyone wearing religious
symbols in public that were considered idolatrous within the Hanbali school risked
confrontation with the religious police.
Islamic religious education was mandatory in public schools at all levels. Regardless
of the Islamic tradition to which their families adhere, all public school children
receive religious instruction that conforms to the conservative Hanbali tradition
of Sunni Islam. Expatriate non Muslim students in private schools were not required
to study Islam. There was inconsistent enforcement of the law that imposes quotas
on attendance of non-Saudi Muslim children at international schools in the country
(other than their national community schools).
In contrast to the previous year, there were no reports that religious police pressured
employers and sponsors to reach verbal agreements with non Muslim employees that
they would not participate in private or public non Muslim worship services.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination
The government continued to enforce the Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam. Adherents
of Shia Islam faced significant political, economic, legal, social, and religious
discrimination condoned by the government, including limited employment and education
opportunities and underrepresentation in official institutions. There were also
restrictions on the practice of their faith and on the building of places of worship
and community centers.
The Shia Muslim minority, estimated to be between 8 and 10 percent of the citizen
population, lived mostly in the Eastern Province, although a significant number
resided in the Western Province and in Najran in the southwest. The local government
in the Najran area subjected members of the Sulaiman Ismaili minority (a branch
of Shia Islam) to officially sanctioned discrimination in employment, the justice
system, and the ability to practice their religion freely.
At year's end Hadi al-Mutif, a Sulaimani Ismaili Shia, remained imprisoned under
a 1996 death sentence for "insulting the Prophet Muhammad." Then-King Fahd stayed
the death sentence and King Abdullah upheld the stay; however, al-Mutif has remained
in prison and has faced periods of solitary confinement following suicide attempts.
While they constituted approximately 40 percent of the Eastern Province population,
there were only three Shia among the 150 members of the Consultative Council, the
royally appointed body that advises the king, initiates legislation, and reviews
and comments on policies as requested.
On January 25, the Al-Rasid Web site reported that extremists distributed leaflets
in the Eastern Province before Ashura accusing the Shia of plotting to demolish
the Grand Mosque in Mecca, remove the Kaaba and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina,
and annihilate all Muslims except the rafidah, a branch of Shia Muslims.
On September 7, police arrested Shia religious leader Shaikh Tawfik al-Amer for
performing prayers according to Shia practice. Authorities released him after 11
days in detention. According to NGO reports, police also arrested al-Amer in June
for criticizing a statement signed by 22 Sunni clerics that described Shia as enemies
of Sunnis.
There were no public places of worship for non Muslims. Although significant numbers
of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and a few Jews resided in the country, no public
churches, temples, or synagogues were allowed. There were reports of violence against
and harassment of Christians, due to societal discrimination against foreign workers
coupled with religious discrimination.
The government required noncitizens to carry legal resident identity cards that
contained a religious designation for "Muslim" or "non Muslim." Unlike in previous
years, there were no reports that some sponsors withheld pay and residency card
renewal based on religious factors.
There were reports that religious vigilantes, unaffiliated with the CPVPV and acting
on their own, harassed and assaulted citizens and foreigners.
On infrequent occasions, editorial cartoons exhibited anti-Semitism characterized
by stereotypical images of Jews along with Jewish symbols and comparisons of Israeli
government actions to those of the Nazis. Anti Semitic editorial comments sometimes
appeared in the government and private print and electronic media in response to
regional political events.
There continued to be instances in which Sunni imams, who receive government stipends,
used anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, and anti-Shia language in their sermons and some
instances in which mosque speakers prayed for the death of Jews and Christians,
including from the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. There
were reports the MOIA dismissed some imams for espousing intolerant ideas, but other
imams who made such statements were allowed to continue. There were reports of imams
in the Eastern Province who included calls for divine punishment of Jews as part
of special prayers.
Since 2001 the government has claimed it has projects under way to revise textbooks,
curricula, and teaching methods to promote tolerance and remove content disparaging
religions other than Islam. Despite its most recent effort begun in 2006, elementary
and secondary education textbooks still retained some language that was intolerant
of other religious traditions, especially Jewish, Christian, and Shia beliefs, and
in some cases provided justification for violence against non-Muslims.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report
at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.