Saudi Arabia is a proud country that protects the shrines of Islam.
Most people are aware of the rules of covering Muslim women, but when the educated Saudi women are ambivalent about the safety granted to them by the clothing and religious values of modestry, few in the west wish to make it an issue.
But there is a quiet group of people lacking freedom in the Saudi kingdom that no one wishes to discuss: The large number of overseas foreign workers in that kingdom.
The Middle East is the home of two million Philippinos, who work as nurses, doctors, technicians, drivers, maids and other blue collar or unskilled jobs.
As this NYTimes article points out, most are driven to such jobs by poverty and, for the middle class (e.g. doctors and nurses) the lack of opportunity in the Philippines.
So today’s Manila Bulletin has a headline: 500 nurses needed in Saudi Arabia.
But in the middle of the NYTimes article you see a single paragraph that suggests a problem:
We were breezing through the family photo album when she pointed at a picture from Saudi Arabia that showed her husband at an evangelical church. Church? That is a ticket to deportation or worse. Alarmed that her slip might place him in greater dangers, she started to sob. “I can’t stop him — that’s where he found his happiness,” she said. When I reached him, he encouraged me to mention his preaching, saying it was his way of thanking God for the chance to work abroad. “I promised the Lord I’ll share the Gospel under any circumstance,” he said.
But it goes furthur than that. In most of the Middle East, a preacher might get into trouble, but if you enter Saudi you might have your rosary and bible confiscated.
There are a 900 000 Philippinos in Saudi, 90 percent Christian, and an estimated 600 000 Keralan Christians from India, not to mention Hindus, not to mention Christians from Africa, Lebanon, or Palestine. Yet there is no Christian church in Saudi Arabia.
More prosperous Catholics can fly to the small Gulf states for Christmas and other feast days. Yet there is something misearable for a Catholic Christian not to be able to receive the sacraments, and the idea that small groups of Christians meeting for rosary or bible study face arrest.
And this freedom goes furthur than religion: In the USA, churches are a way to meet people and ethnic churches allow immigrants to find fellowship that may be missing in their new country. Yet our migrants are forbidden this benign way to find fellowship.
Yet the failure of Saudi Arabia to allow freedom of religion for their workers is one of the biggest secrets in the US press.
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Nancy Reyes is a retired physician living in the Philippines. Her webpage is Finest Kind Clinic and fishmarket
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16 users commented in " Christians in Saudi Arabia: no churches allowed "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackbackif you cant accept one country’s wish of maintaining its own in its own boundary, then why come?
Why don’t we have any Islamic mosques or Hindu temples in the Vatican, why isn’t there any article about that in your blog.
Is there another country/kingdom left that bans other religions or imprisons those who follow other than the official religion? I’m sure that if a well meaning Muslim were to visit the Vatican and feel the call to give thanks to his maker and take a prayer or read from his holy book that would not endanger his freedom or life like it would for a non-Muslim in KSA.
I feel for the poor people who have no where to go but to countries where they are not wanted to find work. The Philippinos I have know inside and outside of KSA have been some of the brightest and hardest working people I have know. They would be a benefit to any country.
Don’t forget that KSA has an awful human rights record and only banned slavery in the early 1960’s. If you are looking for freedom don’t go there.
If people of other religions cannot respect rules of KSA then why go there??? Saudi Arabia does not beg people to come to the kingdom. In USA, there are holidays for Muslim festivals but there is always official celebrations in Easter, Christmas etc. yet she (usa) always beat the drums of its DEMOCRACY, SECULARISM, PLURALISM ………. Come on guys, lets not be hypocrites. Frankly, all western governments are the most hypocrite institutions on the face of the earth. And surprisingly, the same SECULAR wester governments also staunchly supports the Saudi Royal Dictators ……….. hahaha what a hypocrisy.
I meant to say there are NO HOLIDAYS for Muslim Festivals. Missed to write NO …
Muslim brothers who defend the policy of Saudi arabia must know the policy of OIC. OIC then demands minority status in India /philipines/thailand and ask for Muslims right to their worship as peer sharia. Is Hindu fundementalists in India are correct in asking muslims to go to Saudi arabia or pakistan for practising their religion? Is pakistan lalmasjid cleric correct in asking Muslims who want to see CDs or listen to music or dance must go to india?
Hikmatullah is correct about western governments hypocracy in supporting dictators/Kings in Muslim countries while shedding crocodile tears for democracy.
as a muslim i find this article offending… we muslims have a call for prayer called the AZAN which we arent allowed 2 recite in these western countries… we follow the norms of the countries so i mean u have to follow our norms..let me tell u this much we arent allowed 2 built a mosque in the vatican and even if we are we cant recite the azan so i mean the christians are at fault 2 … y dont u look at that aspect.. Syria has chruches,lebanon does egypt does… y dont u look at those countries… c u christians want 2 get into our holy land and corrupt our ppl with ur missionaires but we muslims are 2 smart for it..
Why do you want a mosque in the Vatican so much? There is no need for a mosque in the Vatican. How would you like to have a church built in mecca? Italy allows plenty of mosques to be built, just like France, the UK, and the US. So, there is no justification for the Saudis’ ban on other religions. It’s plain racist and hypocritical, If Saudi Arabia supports spreading islam to other countries, which have no interest in islam at all, then it should allow other religions in as well. Tolerance goes both ways. If muslims are not required to tolerate other religions, others are not required to tolerate islam. As for now, muslims can keep their mosques away from the Vatican. Just keep them were they don’t bother non-muslims.
Vatican City, officially State of the Vatican City (Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae; Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano), is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome.
Ok so for all the people who say why arent u” building a mosque in vatican”..its really really dumb of you guys to even think that way..who is stopping you to build a mosque in rome and who is stopping you to pray..have some brains before you say something
Christians arenttalking about building a church in Mecca they are just asking for a small get together where we can pray..nothign much..
I hope you guys can open your eyes and see that
just a small church in saudi doesnt mean we are asking to build a church in mecca
massud said it well…i only read what you wrote after i submitted it..
Adil you have said that ” you follow the norms of a country you stay in” ? So what ever is normal in that country you abide by ..makes me want to wonder what all things can be considered normal in some countries
from the experiences in moslem countries,
church is always used for evangelical purpose.
in Islam, there is a responsible to guard your family from hell, in Islam faith to be christian/catholic meant go to hell.
(there is a ayyah that said, someone who said Isa/Ioeso/jesus (the prophet as God) will be punished to hell.
that’s why moslem affraid the church will be used to baptized/spreading christianity among muslim.
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except christian can guarantee the church just only used for christian worships purpose, no evangelical activity
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you have to understand the nelieve to protect their family from hell (according to moslem believing)
paijo,
please give hard evidences of what you just claimed. please state anywhere in the koran that says christians will all go to hell and all you misinformation which are aboviously third party hand me downs.
till you can provie us all hard evidences and total facts, please refrain from making rediculous claims. a three year old can tell your agenda.
All religions say: Kiss us for our religion
Islam say: Kill others for our religion.
Islam is taught my uneducated people. that is why terrorism reigns in Islam.
be careful wat u say about other peaples religion be careful of your tongue.i wld give u an advice why dont u take the Quran and read it then u get to no about tins u dont know.am sure ur religion doesnt teach u to make mockry of other pples religion or am i wrong?
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