22 May 2017

The cradle of religious intolerance

.... If the president had wanted to attend worship services Sunday, he would have been out of luck. Churches are banned in Saudi Arabia, as are synagogues and any and all religious activities unrelated to Islam. If Trump had been so inclined to read passages from the Holy Bible while in Saudi Arabia, he would have been free to do so, as long as he was doing it out of public view, like behind closed doors.

Trump told his audience in the land of Islam’s holiest sites, that “young Muslim boys and girls should be able to grow up free from fear, safe from violence and innocent of hatred.” How does that apply to Christians, Jews and non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia who wish to practice their faith as openly as adherents of Islam observe their own? I’ve been there. Religious tolerance is an alien notion.

Saudi Arabia neither recognizes nor protects religious freedom. It also cares little about keeping non-Muslims free from fear, violence and hatred. But, then again, come to think of it, in some ways, that’s also true of the Islamic State. [The Washington Post] Read more