Prominent Saudis dismissed US accusations of severe violations of religious freedom in the kingdom and said on Thursday that the criticisms were politically motivated.
"Pooh!"
"Pooh!"
"Yes, pooh!" |
Government officials were not immediately available over the Muslim weekend to respond to Washington's decision to put Saudi Arabia on a blacklist of countries of "particular concern" in an annual report on Wednesday tracking religious freedom worldwide. But the move was met with scepticism by many in the kingdom, whose close alliance with the United States has come under increasing strain in the last three years and become an issue in the US presidential campaign. "I can't say Saudi Arabia is the freest country. But it is the cradle of Islam. Are they proposing to have churches or synagogues or Buddhist temples here?" said Abdulaziz al-Fayez, a member of Saudi Arabia's consultative Shura Council. "All Saudis are Muslims and this is a Muslim state".
| Uhuh. That's the problem, bub. All Soddies are Muslims, whether they want to be or not. If they decide they don't want to be Muslims, somebody'll kill them. Why not have churches or synagogues or Buddhist temples? Do you, deep down, lack the conviction that your religion is able to compete with them? |
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