The grand mufti of Saudi Arabia has called for the destruction of all churches in the Arabian Peninsula, claiming that the move is in line with Islamic law. Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, told a delegation from Kuwait last week that it was “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region”. The sheikh is Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Saudi Arabia’
Islam’s pilgrimage to Mecca, Hajj 2014
Friday, October 3rd, 2014
What is Hajj? The annual Hajj pilgrimage is one of the world’s largest gatherings, as hundreds of thousands of people flock to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to participate in one of Islam’s five pillars of faith. Muslims from all over the world will gather together for five days to pray as one community, celebrating their history Read more
Saudi Arabia declares atheists are terrorists
Friday, April 4th, 2014
Saudi Arabia has declared atheists are terrorists in new laws. Lengthy prison terms are threatened for almost any criticism of the government or Islam. The new laws are accompanied by a series of related royal decrees which seem to criminalise virtually all dissident thought or expression. Secular citizens who commit thought crimes are placed in Read more
Islam’s pilgrimage to Mecca – the Hajj
Tuesday, October 15th, 2013
What is Hajj? The annual Hajj pilgrimage is one of the world’s largest gatherings, as hundreds of thousands of people flock to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to participate in one of Islam’s five pillars of faith. Muslims from all over the world will gather together for five days to pray as one community, celebrating their history Read more
Global state of religious freedom is ‘dire’
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013
The state of religious freedom around the world is “increasingly dire”, according to the chairperson of a United States agency that monitors threats to this human right. The reasons include the rise of violent religious extremism and the actions and inactions of governments, according to Dr Katrina Lantos Swett of the US Commission for International Read more
Saudis oppose Vatican plan for .catholic web addresses
Friday, August 17th, 2012The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is attempting to block a Vatican bid to create new web addresses ending in .catholic, arguing that the Church “cannot demonstrate that it possesses a monopoly over the term ‘Catholic’ ”. The objection is one of more than 160 sent by the Saudis to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names Read more
Saudi report: Women driving spurs premarital sex
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011A report given to a high-level advisory group in Saudi Arabia claims that allowing women in the kingdom to drive could encourage premarital sex, a rights activist said Saturday.
The ultraconservative stance suggests increasing pressure on King Abdullah to retain the kingdom’s male-only driving rules despite international criticism.
Rights activist Waleed Abu Alkhair said the document by a well-known academic was sent to the all-male Shura Council, which advises the monarchy. The report by Kamal Subhi claims that allowing women to drive will threaten the country’s traditions of virgin brides, he said. The suggestion is that driving will allow greater mixing of genders and could promote sex.
Read the article...Saudi women with attractive eyes may be forced to cover even them
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011Women with attractive eyes may be forced to cover them up under Saudi Arabia’s latest repressive measure.
The ultra-conservative Islamic state has said it has the right to stop saudi women revealing ‘tempting’ eyes in public.
A spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Sheikh Motlab al Nabet, said a proposal to enshrine the measure in law has been tabled.
If women do not wear an abaya, cover their hair, and in some regions conceal their faces while in public, they face punishments including fines and public floggings.
Read the article...