The Bush administration has termed Saudi Arabia as the
worst violator of religious freedom in the Middle East, but refrained from
placing the kingdom in a category that would have resulted in U.S.
arms sanctions.
Six countries "of particular concern" and therefore subject to sanctions are Burma, China, Cuba, Laos,
North Korea and Vietnam. Iran has not been on the list State Department list
despite being cited as a major violator of religious freedom in the Middle
East, Middle East Newsline reported.
A State Department report cited Saudi Arabia as the most flagrant
violator of religious freedom in the region. The report said the Saudi kingdom
continues to display hostility toward non-Islamic religions despite numerous
U.S. appeals.
"Freedom of religion does not exist in Saudi Arabia," the report said.
"Muslims not adhering to the officially sanctioned version faced harassment
at the hands of the [religious police]."
But the report, dismissing a recommendation by a
congressionally-mandated U.S. commission, avoided placing Saudi Arabia in a
category termed "countries of particular concern." The six countries in that
category have been subject to a range of U.S. sanctions, including a ban on
the delivery of U.S. military platforms. Saudi Arabia is the biggest client
of U.S. weaponry and has been negotiating several major deals to modernize
the kingdom's military and National Guard.
"Saudi Arabia has been very close to the threshold, and in terms of
restrictions of religious freedom there are few countries that are more
restrictive in terms of their laws," John Hanford, the State Department's
ambassador at large for international religious freedom, said. "There are
other countries that are much harsher in terms of the ways that they
manifest their laws, in terms of arresting and torture and murdering people.
The government of Saudi Arabia has begun to implement some measures to
address this problem, and we will be in the process of trying to assess how
far those are along before we make that final decision."
The department's report, however, said there was no change in the status
of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia over the last year. The department
cited the continued detention of Shi'ite leaders and members of the Ismaili
Shi'a community in the Najran province.
Saudi mosque preachers paid by the government used what was termed
violently anti-Jewish and anti-Christian language in their sermons, the
report said. The report said Hindus, regarded as polytheists, faced greater
discrimination than Christians with respect to compensation for accidental
death and injury.
The report said the United States would press Riyad to honor its
commitment to permit private religious worship by non-Muslims, to eliminate
discrimination against minorities, and to promote tolerance toward
non-Muslims. The report said U.S. embassy staffers have discussed
allegations
of Saudi religious rights violations with kingdom officials.
