Thursday, April 16, 2009

Christians in Saudi Arabia face death or imprisonment

Hamoud Saleh Al-Amri, is a 28 year-old Saudi national who converted from Islam to Christianity. His disillusionment with Islam set in when he witnessed the executions of three Pakistanis convicted on drug charges. He set about a study of other religions. Heaving read how Jesus forgave - rather than stoned -a woman condemned for adultery, Bin Saleh decided to become a Christian. He wrote about this in his blog.

This soon came to the attention of the Saudi authorities. Saudi police arrested Hamoud Bin Saleh on Jan. 13 ”because of his opinions and his testimony that he had converted from Islam to Christianity,” according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). They also blocked his blog Masihi Saudi.
Surprisingly he was released by Saudi authorities at the end of March 2009 notwithstanding the fact that under Sharia law he could have been executed for apostasy. It is believed that pressure from human rights organizations such as the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) convinced the Saudi authorities to relent. However he has been banned from travelling outside Saudi Arabia or appearing in media according to Middle East Concern, a Christian organisation.

In August 2008 the daughter of a member of Saudi Arabia’s religious police was killed for writing in her blog- called Rania-about her belief in the Christian religion. She had her tongue cut out and was burned to death. Moslems who convert to Christianity may just "disappear".

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've never liked the use of religious doctrine to justify violence, aggression or the suppression of social dissent.