'Saudi Arabia arrests Ethiopian Christians for “mMxing With Opposite Sex”

Shame on those who allow to construct Saudi Mosques in Ethiopia!

Shame on Amnesty International, on Human Rights Watch, who are quick to help Swedish terrorist journalists, convicted in Ethiopia, but who are silent on the 42 Ethiopian Christians jailed and tortured because they are Christians.

ICC

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the Ethiopian Christians who were arrested seven days ago in Saudi Arabia for holding a prayer meeting are now being charged by Saudi officials with mixing with the opposite sex. In Saudi Arabia, it is illegal for men and women (non-family) to be in the same room together.

The six men and 29 women were holding a weekly prayer meeting on December 15 when the Saudi police arrested them. Christian leaders say that the accusation of “mixing with the opposite sex” is only an excuse, and believe that the Christians were arrested for practicing their faith. The Christians have not yet been brought before any court.

“The Saudi officials are accusing the Christians of committing the crime of mixing of sexes because if they charge them with meeting for practicing Christianity, they will come under pressure from the international human rights organizations as well as Western countries. In fact, when an employer of one of the detainees asked for the reason for their employee’s arrest, the Saudi official told him that it was for practicing Christianity,” said a church leader from Saudi Arabia in an interview with ICC.

Asked what Christians around the world could do, another Saudi church leader said, “I ask people who belong to the kingdom of God to show their solidarity with the detained Christians by speaking on their behalf and asking government officials for their release.”

ICC’s Jonathan Racho said, “The freedom of religion, including the freedom to assemble together to worship, is a basic right recognized under international human rights law. It is ironic that Saudi Arabia, the country which engages in construction of mosques around the world, clamps down on Christians who worship in their private homes. We urge the media, international human rights bodies and others to put pressure on Saudi Arabia and condemn its actions.” 

 

42 Ethiopian Christians arrested in Saudi Arabia

 

ICC

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Saudi security forces arrested 42 Ethiopian Christians at a prayer gathering in Jeddah on Thursday. The location of the detained Christians is unknown.

On December 15, Saudi police and security officers raided an evening prayer meeting at the home of an Ethiopian Christian in the Al-Safa district of Jeddah. Those attending the service were reportedly beaten and threatened before being arrested.

"Security officials broke [into] the house and captured, beat and threatened them for death. They divided the men and the women and they are torturing them [in prison]," an Ethiopian and Eritrean Christian immigrant community living in Europe wrote in a desperate appeal for help to the ambassadors of European embassies in Riyadh on Friday.

"Saudi Arabian officials have arrested Christians in the past but it is unprecedented for them to arrest 42 Christians at one time," a church leader in Jeddah, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told ICC. "We are particularly concerned about the children of the detained Christians."

Two Ethiopian fellowships in Saudi Arabia informed ICC that they will temporarily postpone services until the situation calms. Christians in Saudi Arabia, most of who enter the country as foreign workers, are not allowed to practice their faith openly. Saudi police have been known to raid private worship gatherings in homes, arrest and deport congregants, and confiscate Christian materials, including Bibles.

Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, "Though not permitting a single church building where Christians can worship in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government goes even further to assault the religious freedoms of its citizens and foreign workers by hunting for and arresting Christians who attend services in the privacy of their own homes. As a signatory to the UN Convention against Torture, we urge Saudi Arabia to end the abuse that the Ethiopian Christians have reportedly suffered in prison and to ensure their immediate release."

Riyadh deports a pastor to Eritrea

ASIANEWS

Eyob Mussie, an Eritrean refugee, was arrested on 12 February in Jeddah on charges of Christian proselytising. A court had decided to repatriate him forcibly. An appeal has been made to find a third country for the clergyman.

Mussie was arrested on 12 February in front of a mosque in Jeddah, the kingdom’s second largest city. He had gone there to talk to Muslims about Christianity. He was charged with proselytising, which in Saudi Arabia can

Saudi authorities initially viewed Eyob as a mental case. A medical test found instead that he was fit to stand trial. He was eventually moved to Briman Prison, a high security prison. However, instead of sentencing to death, the authorities decided to send him back to Eritrea.

In Eritrea, some 3,000 Christians are currently in prison without charges. Some have been held in isolation for years.

The probability that Eyob Mussie would receive the same treatment, including the possibility of the death penalty is very high.

For this motive, Andrew Johnston, director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, appealed to the Saudi government to “consider alternative countries of asylum” for the clergyman.

Delta airlines bans Jews from American flights to Saudi Arabia

Jews and Israelis, or passengers carrying any non-Islamic article of faith, will not be able to fly Delta AirLines flights from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia under Delta's new partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Although Delta announced in January that the Saudi airline would join its SkyTeam network next year, the implications of the deal only came to light recently, according to people who have scrutinized the details.

Saudi Arabia bans anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passport from entering the country, even in transit. Many Jews believe the kingdom has also withheld visas from travelers with Jewish-sounding names.

Religious items such as Bibles that are not related to Islam may be confiscated at the airport.

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Islamic Schools of Child Sexual Abuse

Recently released American diplomatic cables have revealed Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirate donors to be spending $100 million a year to fund a Pakistani network of jihadist religious schools. While these Islamic schools — known as madrassas — are better known as places to recruit and train young boys and girls as terrorist fighters and suicide bombers, they have other equally disturbing uses.

Madrassas have been cited as major links to terrorist organizations, providing militant groups juvenile recruits, organizational bases, transit points and military training. While wealthy Arab donors have long been suspected of funding them, the diplomatic documents also pointed to direct active support by both the Saudi Arabian and UAE governments.

Most of the funds in question were sent to madrassas in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Despite a reputation as the most moderate of Pakistani provinces, reports from 2008 have claimed anywhere from 5,000 to 9,000 Punjab children to be fighting in Afghanistan.

In either case, the Pakistanis, according to the cables, reportedly turned a fearful blind eye to the issue, stating “The provincial and federal governments, while fully aware of the problem, appear to fear direct confrontation with these extremist groups.”

According to the cable the juveniles — as young as age 8 — were being recruited from mostly large, poverty stricken families. As such, each child’s family would receive a $6500 compensation as well as “God’s favor,” if the child happened to be martyred along the way.

Once enrolled in the madrassa, children would then be isolated from direct contact with the outside world and “taught sectarian extremism and hatred for non-Muslims.” After several months of indoctrination, they would then be sent to more established training camps before going on to wage jihad, either as combat insurgents or as suicide bombers.

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Eritrean Christian faces death penalty in Saudi Arabia

BARNABASFUND

An Eritrean Christian is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia after being arrested for sharing his faith with Muslims.

Mussie Eyob was detained by the authorities at a mosque in Saudi's second largest city, Jeddah, on 12 February. He had gone there to meet and talk with local Muslims after speaking about Christianity at the Eritrean Embassy for three days. Eyob was arrested for preaching to Muslims, an offence that carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

Eyob, who was initially assumed to have mental health problems, was examined by doctors, who confirmed that he is fit for trial and sentencing. He was then transferred to the notorious high-security Briman Prison. His family are very concerned for his welfare there.

They visited Eyob on 20 March and found that he had lost weight, though he was in relatively good spirits. He said that he is ready to die for his faith in Christ.

Eyob, who committed to follow Christ just over two years ago, felt compelled to share his faith with local Muslims, despite the danger.

Saudi Arabia is a strictly Islamic country that follows an extreme and puritanical version of Islam, Wahhabism. The country claims that the Quran is its constitution and that all its laws and regulations are promulgated in line with sharia, which prescribes the death penalty for converts from Islam. Consequently most converts keep their faith secret.

All forms of public religious activities other than those consistent with the government's own interpretation of Sunni Islam are banned. The government has stated that expatriate Christians, of whom there are many in Saudi Arabia, are free to worship in private. But the religious police (mutawaah) sometimes raid private worship services.

The country has one of the highest rates of executions in the world. In late 2009, Amnesty International denounced the presence of at least 141 people on death row in Saudi Arabia, including 104 foreign nationals.

WikiLeaks: Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N' Roll in Saudi Arabia

CNN

"The full range of worldly temptations and vices are available -- alcohol, drugs, sex -- but strictly behind closed doors."

If you want to get your readers' attention, it's not a bad way to start. The language comes from a short but tantalizing U.S. diplomatic cable sent last year from the consulate in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia -- where alcohol is banned and carnal relations strictly regulated.

"Behind the facade of Wahabi conservatism in the streets, the underground nightlife for Jeddah's elite youth is thriving and throbbing," the cable begins.

In evidence, then Consul General Martin Quinn refers to a Halloween party last year. The redacted cable reads: "Along with over 150 young Saudis (men and women mostly in their 20s and early 30s), ConGenOffs accepted invitations to an underground Halloween party at Prince XXXX residence in Jeddah on XXXX."

"The scene resembled a nightclub anywhere outside the Kingdom: plentiful alcohol, young couples dancing, a DJ at the turntables, and everyone in costume," it said.

The notorious Vice Police were nowhere to be seen "because the religious police keep their distance when parties include the presence or patronage of a Saudi royal and his circle of loyal attendants." There are literally thousands of princes in Saudi Arabia, but the host of this event was able to trace his lineage back to a direct ancestor of King Abdullah.

As for the details of the party, the cable continues: "The hired Filipino bartenders served a cocktail punch using sadiqi, a locally-made moonshine.... It was also learned through word-of-mouth that a number of the guests were in fact 'working girls,' not uncommon for such parties."

The cable goes on to make the point that black-market liquor is prohibitively expensive -- even for princes. A bottle of Smirnoff vodka might cost the equivalent of $400. "Additionally, though not witnessed directly at this event, cocaine and hashish use is common in these social circles and has been seen on other occasions," it adds.

The Consul General draws an interesting conclusion at the end of his dispatch. "Parties of this nature and scale are believed to be a relatively recent phenomenon in Jeddah. ...It is not uncommon in Jeddah for the more lavish private residences to include elaborate basement bars, discos, entertainment centers and clubs."

"As one high society Saudi remarked, "The increased conservatism of our society over these past years has only moved social interaction to the inside of people's homes."

The first black Saudi Imam in 1400 years

Following are excerpts from interviews with Sheikhh Adel Al-Kalbani, imam of the Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca, which aired on BBC Arabic on May 5, 2009 and Al-Arabiya TV on February 27, 2009.


To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2102.htm.

On BBC Arabic: I View Shi'ite Religious Scholars as Apostates

Interviewer: "Do you support those who accuse Shi'ites of apostasy?"

Sheikhh Adel Al-Kalbani: "With regard to the laymen among the Shi'ites — this is debatable. But their religious scholars — I view them as apostates.

Interviewer: All of them?"

Sheikhh Adel Al-Kalbani: "With regard to the religious scholars, yes."

Interviewer: "Are you in favor of allowing religious liberties in general?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "For us, liberty has limits. Would you allow a mosque to be built in the Vatican?"

Interviewer: "Sheikh Adel, the Vatican is the center of the papal church, while the holy places in Saudi Arabia belong to Muslims of all sects and schools."

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "But in the Vatican, they do not allow [a church] to be built for the Protestants."

Interviewer: "Where can Christians [pray]?"
"The Prophet's Guidance... Dictates: 'Drive The Jews And The Christians Out of the Arabian Peninsula'... They Should Be Allowed to Live Here Only If Their Presence is Essential"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "Christians are allowed to pray in their homes. We have no problem with them praying where they live. But for the bells to be sounded in the land of the Prophet Muhammad — that [runs counter] to the Prophet's guidance. The Prophet's guidance, by which we act, dictates: 'Drive the Jews and the Christians out of the Arabian Peninsula.' Driving them out is undoubtedly the prerogative of the ruler, but they should be allowed to live here only if their presence is essential."

Interviewer: "But what you are saying runs counter to the interfaith dialogue, doesn't it? On what basis does Saudi Arabia engage in interfaith dialogue with them? Is it just dialogue for the sake of dialogue? Isn't it in order for everybody to get what they are entitled to?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "Yes, but within the limits of the shari'a. We are talking from the perspective of the shari'a, not from a personal perspective."

Interviewer: "But don't you agree that there should be a common denominator? The limits of the shari'a is the position of the Muslims, but not of the Christians who live in Saudi Arabia, right?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "[The Christian] came as a visitor. He is not a citizen. If he were a citizen... watchamacallit... a Christian citizen — maybe there would be room for debate. Maybe. But in principle, he is a visitor, a guest, who stays for some time, and then leaves. He knew these were the rules before he came here. No visitor to a country can demand that it change its rules."

Interviewer: "Not to change the rules, but if you, as a Muslim, were to visit a country, wouldn't you hope there would be a mosque in which to pray, regardless of whether you are a citizen or not?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "I would hope so. Undoubtedly. But Allah be praised, according to the Prophet's guidance: 'The whole Earth was made a mosque and pure for me.' Therefore, a Muslim can pray anywhere."

Interviewer: "You just accused Shi'ite religious scholars — not laymen — of apostasy. Some people may ask: If this is not fanaticism, what is?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "This is not fanaticism unless you mean being fanatic about my religion. In such a case, I cannot deny that I am a fanatic. My personal belief is that anyone who is aware of the status of Abu Bakr, yet curses him and draws closer to Allah by hating him, by warning against him, and by cursing him — I cannot call such a person a Muslim. With regard to the laymen, I can accept that they are either misled or ignorant, but someone who knows the status of Abu Bakr, yet accuses him of apostasy and denies that he was a companion of the Prophet — he is undoubtedly an apostate, even if he was a Sunni."

Besides The Issue of Driving a Car, "There Is No Other Example of Women Lacking Rights In Saudi Arabia" Interviewer: "Do you support demands made by women in Saudi Arabia for certain rights that the women feel they lack?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "Women indeed lack some rights, but not because of Islam or the rules. This is because of the implementation of these rights by their husbands or parents."

Interviewer: "But don't the state and the society impose their restrictions as well?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "I do not think that society imposes any restrictions on women. We have a woman who has become a deputy minister."

Interviewer: "Are women capable of driving, or is this prevented by society?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "If all women's rights are reduced to driving a car..."

Interviewer: "This is just an example, Sheikh Adel."

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "There is no other example of women lacking rights in Saudi Arabia. There are women clerks, women doctors, and women laborers.

"I had a lengthy discussion with Sheikh Ibn 'Uthaymin about [Jihad]. We came to the conclusion that whoever kills himself is committing suicide, even if it is done for the sake of harming the enemy. The so-called 'Jihad operations' are, in fact, suicide operations. This is my opinion, and Allah will reckon with me about it. Such a person is committing suicide. Whether or not Allah forgives him is not up to me. My ruling is that such a person is committing suicide."

On Al-Arabiya TV: My Appointment as Imam of Al-Haram "Is More Significant Than the Election of Obama"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "I believe that my appointment to the position of imam [of the Haram Mosque] is much more significant."

Interviewer: "More significant than the election of Obama?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "in other positions, there may have been [black] people in the past, but with regard to this position, my appointment was a courageous decision. I believe that it is more significant than the election of Obama.

Interviewer: In what sense?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "This is part of democracy, part of the world."

Interviewer: "But more people elected him."

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "The Haram Mosque is the place of all Muslims."

Interviewer: "The Haram Mosque?"

Sheikh Adel Al-Kalbani: "Yes. This is more all-encompassing than the White House, which, as important as it may be, is restricted to the Americans.