US Says Saudis Repress Religion
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The United States for the first time named Saudi Arabia yesterday as a country that severely violates religious freedom, potentially subjecting the close US ally to sanctions.
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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia  - Prominent Saudis dismissed  U.S. accusations of severe violations of religious freedom in  the kingdom and said on Thursday that the criticisms were  politically motivated.
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Religious freedom has deteriorated in Iraq, Egypt, and China, and improved in Saudi Arabia, a US report says.
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Description: The US government will release Yaser Hamdi, an American born Saudi who was designated an combatant, into the custody of Saudi Arabia.
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An Egyptian cleric based in Qatar and often described as a moderate has ruled that it is a religious duty for Muslims to fight Americans in Iraq, including U.S. civilians, his office director said Thursday.
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The State Department called on authorities in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to reopen the trial of three democratic advocates and to recognize the right of freedom of expression in the conservative kingdom.
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JEDDAH: The United States renewed a warning to its nationals on Tuesday to stay out of Saudi Arabia following an attack claimed by Al Qaeda on its mission in Jeddah that killed at least nine people.
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The State Department yesterday put Saudi Arabia on its blacklist of severe violators of religious freedom for the first time, opening the door to US sanctions.
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The Bush administration sets in motion a major arms sale to Saudi Arabia as the US president visits the kingdom.
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Saudi Arabian officials have reportedly detained a blogger whose writing has criticized religious extremism in the country, according to the two press freedom groups and a regional human-rights organization.Blogger and IT professional Fouad Ahmed al-Farhan, 32, was taken into custody on December 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Wednesday. His Arabic-language site now has a &quot;Free Fouad&quot; banner in English across the top.In a letter sent to friends shortly before his arrest, al-Farhan wrote that he had been told that the interior ministry was investigating him and would pick him up within two weeks. At the time he described the worst case as being jailed for three days, but he was still being held without charge as of Friday, according to Joel Campagna, Middle East program coordinator for the CPJ in New York.Al-Farhan&#39;s blog promotes political reform and bears the tagline, &quot;Searching for freedom, dignity, justice, equality, Shura and all the remaining Islamic values which are missing,&quot; along with a dedication to his daughters, according to a report on the website of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. Some of his more critical commentary has dealt with the question of religious extremism, Campagna said. Al-Farhan also recently posted a blog item criticizing ten well-known personalities who have close ties to the Saudi royal family, he said.The Saudi government&#160;heavily censors Internet content, both political criticism and pornography, Campagna said. Contentious news or political commentary sites are frequently blocked.There have been previous incidents of online writers suffering retaliation. In 2006, Saudi journalist Rabah al-Quwai&#8217;, who had criticized religious extremism, was held for 13 days. In order to obtain his release he had to confess to having denigrated Islamic beliefs, and promise to would defend Islamic values in his future work, the CPJ reported.Reporters Without Borders Thursday released a statement calling for al-Farhan&#39;s release; its current list of &quot;13 Internet Enemies&quot; includes Saudi Arabia.Research into Internet content filtering by the OpenNet Initiative shows substantial blocking activity by the government of Saudi Arabia. The group says that filtering content for political reasons is the common denominator across the Middle East.The CPJ last year detailed Saudi media censorship in its report, Princes, Clerics and Censors.&#160;
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In an unusual censure of a key ally in the war on terrorism, the Bush administration yesterday accused Saudi Arabia of &quot;particularly severe violations&quot; of religious freedom.
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A federal panel yesterday urged the State Department to shut down a Saudi government-supported private school in Northern Virginia unless it can prove it is not teaching religious intolerance.
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WASHINGTON - Stung by criticism about its role in fighting terrorism, Saudi Arabia has launched a radio advertising campaign in 19 U.S. cities citing the Sept...
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The libraries of a number of American mosques feature Arabic-language writings published by the Saudi government or top clerics in the desert kingdom that virulently denounce Muslims from different traditions as well as Christians and Jews, and say devout Muslims should think of America as enemy territory, a new study said.
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The United States rejected a  Saudi plan for an all-Muslim force to protect U.N. election  staff in Iraq because the force would not have been under U.S.  command, New York daily Newsday reported Monday.
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The Washington Post reports on the connection between the Saudi royal family and the strict brand of Islam known to the Western world as "Wahhabism." Wahhabism, which goes against much of the Koran's teaching ...
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JEDDAH/RIYADH: Security forces detained about 14 people on Thursday in Saudi Arabiaâs main cities of Jeddah and Riyadh, deploying in force to confront demonstrations called by a dissident Islamist group against the strictly conservative regime.