Saudi Arabia. The country is a monarchy with a legal system based on its interpretation of Islamic law (Shari'a). Islam is the official religion, and the law requires that all citizens be Muslims. The Government does not provide legal recognition or protection for freedom of religion, and it is severely restricted in practice. The public practice of non- Muslim religions is prohibited. As a matter of policy, the Government confirmed that it guarantees and protects the right to private worship for all, including non- Muslims who gather in homes for religious practice; however, this right was not always respected in practice and is not defined in law. There generally was no change in the status of religious freedom during the reporting period.
However, the Government identified and confirmed its policies with regard to religious practice and tolerance in a number of key areas. The Government continued a campaign against religious extremism, and top officials, including the king, continued to call for the promotion of tolerance. There were reports that some imams (clerics) in their Friday sermons called for all citizens to show respect for other religious faiths. However, there continued to be instances where imams made intolerant statements toward Jews and other religious groups. During the reporting period, the Government put into place policies to limit harassment of religious practice and curb violations by the mutawwa'in (religious police, officially known as the Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice).
Two memorandums of understanding, a program.
Reports of harassment of non- Muslims and non Sunni- Muslims by mutawwa'in continued, but there were fewer reports than in the past. The Government enforced a strictly conservative interpretation of Sunni Islam. Muslims who do not adhere to the officially sanctioned interpretation of Islam can face significant societal discrimination and serious repercussions at the hands of mutawwa'in.
Members of the Shi'a minority continued to face political, economic, legal, social, and religious discrimination, including discrimination in employment, little representation in official institutions, and restrictions on the practice of their faith and on the building of mosques and community centers. The Government confirmed its policy to protect the right to private worship and the right to possess and use personal religious materials.
However, it did not provide for this right in law. Despite this allowance, there were reports of mutawwa'in raids on private residences and detentions of non- Muslims for alleged religious violations, such as possession of non- Muslim literature or holding non- Muslim worship services; however, there were fewer reports than during the previous reporting period. Many non- Muslims continued to worship in fear of harassment and in such a manner as to avoid discovery by police or mutawwa'in.
Although the Government did not provide statistics on the numbers of individuals arrested for religious violations, anecdotal evidence suggested that there was a decrease in both long- term and short- term detentions, and in arrests and deportations of non- Muslims. However, there were also reports that mutawwa'in, using both Muslim and non- Muslim informants, targeted non- Muslim religious leaders and organizers, and non- Muslim religious groups for harassment, arrest, and deportation in an effort to deter groups from conducting private, non- Muslim religious services. During the reporting period, the Government made clear in the context of various discussions its policy to improve the climate of tolerance toward other religious groups and within Islam. In December 2. 00. King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue convened the fifth national dialogue forum, entitled, . In December 2. 00. King Abdullah hosted a ministerial summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which produced the communique .
The Government clarified that its policy is to halt the dissemination of intolerance and combat extremism both within the country and abroad, including through the educational system and in sermons. The Government confirmed that it continues to review educational materials to remove and revise disparaging references to other religious traditions and fire or retrain imams whose preaching promotes extremist religious thought. Some journalists at a few, mostly English language papers continued to publicly criticize abuses by the religious police. However, religious discrimination and sectarian tension in society continued during the reporting period, including denunciations from government- sanctioned pulpits of non- Muslim religions and the Shi'a branch of Islam. The majority of citizens support a state based on Islamic law, although there were varying views regarding how this should be interpreted and implemented.
Saudi relief program launched for earthquake victims in Baluchistan. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has ordered the sponsorship of 1,400 pilgrims from around the world for this year’s Hajj. Umm Al-Qura University is distinguished by its unique location in the Holy City. Hajj Resarch Institute. A part of tourism in Saudi Arabia consists of pilgrims visiting holy sites for their historic significance rather than any religious obligation. Although most tourism in Saudi Arabia. Minister of Hajj and Umrah: Government of Custodian of Two Holy. 645 Pilgrims from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Hosting Program for Hajj. King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah receives pilgrims' first flightThe Halls Complex for Hajj and. King Salman holds talks with Moroccan king in Tangier Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Minister of Energy, Industry. King Abdullah implemented a government scholarship program to send young Saudi men and women to study. Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Facts Geography Introduction Kiswah. In his role as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
One of the largest is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Hajj Sponsorship Program that this. The Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince.
The U. S. Senior administration officials continued to raise religious freedom concerns with the Government, including on specific cases. During the reporting period, senior U.
S. This made it possible to identify and confirm a number of key policies that the Government has made clear that it is pursuing and will continue to pursue for the purposes of promoting greater freedom for religious practice and increased tolerance for religious groups. In 2. 00. 4, then Secretary of State Colin Powell designated Saudi Arabia as a .
In September 2. 00. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice re- designated Saudi Arabia as a CPC, and the Government was issued a waiver of sanctions .
Religious Demography. The country has an area of 1,2. The foreign population reportedly included approximately 1. Indians, one million Bangladeshis, nearly 9. Pakistanis, 8. 00,0. Filipinos, 7. 50,0.
Egyptians, 2. 50,0. Palestinians, 1. 50,0. Lebanese, 1. 30,0. Sri Lankans, 4. 0,0. Eritreans, and 2. Americans. Comprehensive statistics for the religious denominations of foreigners were not available; however, they included Muslims from the various branches and schools of Islam, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists. Approximately 9. 0 percent of the Filipino community was Christian.
There possibly were as many as one million Catholics in the country. The majority of citizens were Sunni Muslims who predominantly adhere to the very strict Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence, the strictest of Sunni Islam's four legal schools. In addition most Sunnis in the Kingdom subscribed to the teachings of Muhammad bin Abd al- Wahhab, an eighteenth Century Muslim scholar belonging to the Hanbali school. For this reason, these individuals were often referred to by others as . Most citizens, however, did not describe themselves in these terms, preferring instead to say simply that they were . It is important to note that the terms .
An estimated 7. 00,0. Sulaimani Ismailis, a subgroup of Shi'a Islam, also lived in the country, primarily in Najran. Status of Religious Freedom. Legal/Policy Framework. There is no legal recognition or protection of religious freedom, and it is severely restricted in practice. Although millions of Muslims and non- Muslims did practice their faith on a daily basis, both Muslims whose beliefs do not conform to the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence and non- Muslims must practice their religion in private and are vulnerable to discrimination, harassment, and sometimes detention. Islam is the official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims.
Religious freedom is not recognized or protected under the Government's interpretations of Islamic laws, and basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state- sanctioned version of Sunni Islam. Citizens are denied the freedom to choose or change their religion. The Government limits the practice of all but the officially sanctioned version of Islam and prohibits the public practice of other religions. As custodian of Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, the Government considers its legitimacy to rest largely on its interpretation and enforcement of Shari'a. The Basic Law provides that the Qur'an and the Sunna (tradition and sayings of Muhammad) constitute the country's constitution. The Government generally follows the rigorously conservative interpretation of the Wahhabi branch of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence and discriminates against other branches of Islam.
However, in a sign of liberalization, the Government also instructed judges to base their rulings on all four schools of Islamic jurisprudence, not just the Hanbali school and its Wahhabi branch. Neither the Government nor society in general accepts the concept of separation of religion and state.
The Basic Law establishes the system of government, rights of residents and citizens, and powers and duties of the Government. The judiciary bases its judgments largely on Shari'a, the traditional system of laws derived from the Qur'an and the Sunna. The Government claims that it permits Shi'a Muslims to use their own version of Shari'a to adjudicate cases limited to family law, inheritance, and endowment management. However, there were only two such Shi'a judges serving the entire Shi'a population.
The Shari'a courts could and did overrule their judgments, and other government departments could choose not to implement their judgments. During the reporting period, the Government announced September 2.
Kingdom's National Day, the first secular holiday. The Eid al- Fitr and Eid al- Adha religious feasts are the only other recognized national holidays. The Government again permitted public observance of the Shi'a holiday of Ashura in the eastern city of Qatif but did not permit it in other areas where Shi'a citizens resided, such as Al- Ahsa and Dammam. Significant numbers of Sufis in the Western Province engaged in technically illegal practices such as celebrating the Mawlid, or Prophet's Birthday, without government interference.