Originally posted by Muslim First:
to some muslims---saudi concepts of islam are alien!
What part of Islam are saudi?
.
Dear MF, Here is the description of the Saudi Government according to the US state dept.
Saudi Arabia
International Religious Freedom Report
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Saudi Arabia is an Islamic monarchy without legal protection for freedom of religion, and such protection does not exist in practice. Islam is the official religion, and the law requires that all citizens be Muslims. The Government prohibits the public practice of non-Muslim religions. The Government recognizes the right of non-Muslims to worship in private; however, it does not always respect this right in practice.
There generally was no change in the status of religious freedom during the period covered by this report. The Government continued to detain Shi'a religious leaders and members of the Ismaili Shi'a community in Najran province. Freedom of non-Muslims to worship privately has received increasing attention in recent years through published interviews with government officials and press articles that addressed the subject in the context of human rights; however, the right to private worship remains restricted. The Government has stated publicly that its policy is to protect the right of non-Muslims to worship privately; however, it does not provide explicit guidelines for determining what constitutes private worship, which makes distinctions between public and private worship unclear. Such lack of clarity, as well as instances of arbitrary enforcement by the authorities, force most non-Muslims to worship in such a manner as to avoid discovery by the Government or others. Members of the Shi’a minority continued to face institutionalized political and economic discrimination, including restrictions on the practice of their faith.
An overwhelming majority of citizens support an Islamic state and oppose public non-Muslim worship. There is societal discrimination against adherents of the Shi’a minority.
Senior U.S. government officials raised the issue of religious freedom with the Government on numerous occasions during the period covered by this report.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country’s total land area is 756,981 square miles and its population is approximately 17 million, with an estimated foreign population of 7 million. The foreign population includes approximately 1.5 million Indians, 1 million Bangladeshis, nearly 900,000 Pakistanis, 800,000 Egyptians, 800,000 Filipinos, 250,000 Palestinians, 150,000 Lebanese, 130,000 Sri Lankans, 40,000 Eritreans, and 36,000 Americans.
The majority of Saudi citizens are Sunni Muslims predominantly adhering to the strict interpretation of Islam taught by the
Salafi or Wahhabi school that is the official state religion.
Approximately 1 million citizens are Shi’a Muslims, who live mostly in the eastern province, where they constitute approximately one-third of the population.
There is no information regarding foreign missionaries in the country. Proselytizing is not permitted.
