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SAUDI ARABIA LAUNCHES BIGGEST CRACKDOWN ON CHRISTIANS IN A DECADE
Doctor Horsefeathers.com ^ | JUNE 2 2005 | Stephen

Posted on 06/04/2005 2:08:06 PM PDT by CHARLITE

All Eyes on U.S. State Dept. as Final Deadline for CPC Sanctions on Saudi Arabia Nears

For Immediate Release You are free to disseminate the following news. We request that you reference International Christian Concern, and include our web address http://www.persecution.org

(ICC - June 2, 2005) - The Washington, D.C. based human rights organization International Christian Concern (ICC) is getting reports of 46 confirmed arrests of Christians, with some sources citing in excess of 100 Christians arrested. From last Friday through yesterday, Saudi authorities engaged in a major crackdown involving a joint effort of standard police forces and Muttawa religious police. In the last couple of days the raids have spread from the capital, Riyadh. This is the largest crackdown in a decade by the religiously oppressive country.

The crackdown comes in the wake of allegations against the United States for desecrating the Qur'an at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. During the latest wave of arrests, Saudi authorities have been ransacking houses and destroying any Bibles found in the victims' possession. Last weekend ICC confirmed reports that 8 Christians were arrested and documents naming other area Christians were seized.

On Saturday, May 28. 2005 at 8:30 p.m. Chittirical John Thomas Passport # A9757690), an Indian national, was pulled from work in Riyadh by Saudi Muttawa authorities, dragged to his home, and beaten in front of his maid and 5 year-old son. The Muttawa gathered his Bible and all religious paraphernalia, and took 37 year-old Thomas to the Shemaissy Detention Center. Thomas's wife, who is 5 months pregnant, has not heard from her husband since. In addition to John Thomas, 7 other Indian nationals were arrested in similar fashion and detained for their faith as Christians while they were asleep on Saturday night.

Valiakalail Samuel Daniel (Passport # Z1101522), Koil Pillai Vijaykumar (E3188388), Mutham Plackal Mathai Thomas (E2584732), Pathivadathil James George (U3128086), George Matthew (E7881606), Biju Thomas (E4201849), and Georgekutty Thomas (A5717194) are the confirmed names of the others arrested. These arrests followed the detention of Samkutty Varghese's detention outside of his bible study on March 22, 2005. Varghese (Passport # E8421022) possessed the names and numbers of other Christians attending the same fellowship group. ICC has received credible reports that Varghese was sentenced to 10 months in prison along with numerous lashes.

This pogrom-like sweeping of the Christian minority in Saudi Arabia is a great disappointment to the United States' State Department, and shows deficient resolve in enforcing sanctions on "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPC). The United States has allowed over 2 months after the initial deadline for implementing direct action against Saudi Arabia for the CPC status. Now, they only have 10 days left to act under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The inaction of the world's leader in promoting freedom is reprehensible, and risks breaching the line of irrelevance on matters of religious freedom and human rights. This latest crackdown on Christians is inexcusable and highlights the oppressive regime under which all religious minorities live and work in Saudi Arabia. The United States and the broader international community need to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for egregious violations of religious freedom.

ICC is a Washington, D.C. based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC delivers humanitarian aid, trains and supports persecuted pastors, raises awareness in the US regarding the problem of persecution, and is an advocate for the persecuted on Capitol Hill and the State Department.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: arrests; christianity; christians; persecution; saudiarabia; sweeps
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Many interesting articles and a lot of information on this website: http://www.persecution.org
1 posted on 06/04/2005 2:08:07 PM PDT by CHARLITE
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To: CHARLITE

The Saudis desecrate and burn all Bibles. Amnesty International, the ACLU, and Howard Dean praise this as forward thinking multi-culturalism.


2 posted on 06/04/2005 2:13:38 PM PDT by FormerACLUmember (Honoring Saint Jude's assistance every day.)
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To: CHARLITE

As we grovel somemore.

Can't upset our sugar daddies can we?


3 posted on 06/04/2005 2:14:07 PM PDT by OpusatFR (Try permaculture and get back to the Founders intent. Mr. Jefferson lives!)
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To: CHARLITE

Meanwhile in the United States, if you some much sneeze on a Koran, you might as well go to Hades according to the American media and the liberal establishment.

What sick and strange times we live in.


4 posted on 06/04/2005 2:17:37 PM PDT by The South Texan (The Democrat Party and the leftist (ABCCBSNBCCNN NYLATIMES)media are a criminal enterprise!)
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To: The South Texan
Meanwhile in the United States, if you some much sneeze on a Koran, you might as well go to Hades according to the American media and the liberal establishment. What sick and strange times we live in.

And evil.

The liberal establishment is absolutely evil and must be utterly destroyed.

5 posted on 06/04/2005 2:19:38 PM PDT by FormerACLUmember (Honoring Saint Jude's assistance every day.)
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To: CHARLITE

Non-western Christians have always been persecuted and have always been in danger in the Kingdom.

Western Christians are normally tolerated as long as they keep it low-profile, but "easterners", Indians, Phillipinos, and others, are often harrassed. Their prayer leaders have been threatened with execution, although in the case I was aware of when I was there, the Phillipino ambassador groveled appropriately and their sentences were commuted from "death" to two years in prison.

This, sadly, is not new. And the muttawa have always been pencil-necked jerks, in need of some serious slapping around.


6 posted on 06/04/2005 2:19:42 PM PDT by marron
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To: CHARLITE
All Eyes on U.S. State Dept. as Final Deadline for CPC Sanctions on Saudi Arabia Nears

Articles which begin with a functionally useless sentence due to the use of an acronym no one is likely to understand, turn me off.

No matter how interesting the subject might be.

7 posted on 06/04/2005 2:21:49 PM PDT by Publius6961 (Before)
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To: All

Solution, arm the 8 million foreign workers and let them take over the country.


8 posted on 06/04/2005 2:24:04 PM PDT by Bringbackthedraft (FR ID'S ARE ON GOOGLE WITH YOUR POSTS. BEWARE WHAT YOU SAY, HILLARY IS WATCHING.)
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To: CHARLITE
This pogrom-like sweeping of the Christian minority in Saudi Arabia is a great disappointment to the United States' State Department

I'm sure the Saudis are deeply saddened by the "great disappointment" of our State Department.

The Saudis are not our friends. They will stab us in the back at every opportunity and especially when it comes to promoting their demonic religion.

9 posted on 06/04/2005 2:32:45 PM PDT by Gritty ("Islam precludes critical thoughts about itself or honest dealings with non-Muslims-Lawrence Auster)
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To: The South Texan
What sick and strange times we live in.

It's PC, and I hate PC with utter passion.

10 posted on 06/04/2005 2:32:54 PM PDT by Mark17
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To: Gritty
The Saudis are not our friends.

Because it should be repeated, in bold:

The Saudis are not our friends.


11 posted on 06/04/2005 2:34:17 PM PDT by Wormwood (Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!)
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To: Wormwood

Of course not. They are freaking royalty.


12 posted on 06/04/2005 2:36:47 PM PDT by RightWhale (It comes down to lack of private property rights)
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To: FormerACLUmember
Right after 9-11 I bought a copy of the Koran and scanned through the text.

Today I keep it handy next to THE BATHROOM READER in the john.

Has anyone ever wondered why Louis Farrakhan kept referring to the number ...19...on the day of the so-called "Million Man March" in Washington DC. on October 16, 1995??

Might that Muslim been in the loop to the knowledge of 19 hijackers 6 years later??

13 posted on 06/04/2005 2:46:38 PM PDT by CROSSHIGHWAYMAN (NO PRISONERS!!)
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To: FormerACLUmember

"The liberal establishment is absolutely evil and must be utterly destroyed".


I know that's a very strong statement .. but the more I hear what the liberals say and then I see what they do .. it's sickening how they distort everything .. Saul Alinsky would be proud.


14 posted on 06/04/2005 2:48:10 PM PDT by CyberAnt (President Bush: "America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth")
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To: CHARLITE

Islam's dark side is the RULE not the exception. Those that seem to feel it has something redeming remind me of the useful idiots who had nice things to say about the USSR.


15 posted on 06/04/2005 2:50:02 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE!)
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To: CHARLITE

16 posted on 06/04/2005 2:51:09 PM PDT by jws3sticks (Hillary can take a very long walk on a very short pier, anytime, and the sooner the better!)
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To: CHARLITE

I'm sure our friends, the Saudis, who killed 3000 of our citizens on 9/11, are furnishing these Christians Bibles while they are imprisoned.
What pitiful dopes we are!


17 posted on 06/04/2005 2:51:24 PM PDT by kittymyrib
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To: FormerACLUmember
"The liberal establishment is absolutely evil and must be utterly destroyed."

Couldn't have said it better myself. It seems to me that we aren't going to be able to destroy Islam forever (which is the true objective), unless we first discredit liberalism here in America. Liberalism in "old Europe" is already reaping its own rewards and is actually tilling the bitter soil of its own conquest by islamofascism.

I predict that in 20 years and possibly less, America will have to wage WW IV against what will then officially be Eurabia, but we can't begin do liberate Eurabia unless and until we eliminate liberalism here.

Item: We are already into WW IV. Afghanistan and Iraq are only the first battles (and battlegrounds) of WW IV, as President Bush has said many times.

Char

18 posted on 06/04/2005 2:54:20 PM PDT by CHARLITE (Why do we permit seditious, hateful messages to be shouted from muslim pulpits in America?)
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To: CHARLITE; tiamat; LogicalMs; quidnunc; Tolik

oy.


19 posted on 06/04/2005 2:55:18 PM PDT by King Prout (RG'OIHGV 08 YAEGRKoirliha35u9p089 y5gep'iojq5g353hat5eohiahetb98 ye5po)
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To: RightWhale
"Of course not. They are freaking royalty."

Four generations ago, they were tending camels and sitting around campfires, cooking over dried cattle dung. Where the "royal house of Saud" came from, I don't know.

Char

20 posted on 06/04/2005 2:55:59 PM PDT by CHARLITE (Why do we permit seditious, hateful messages to be shouted from muslim pulpits in America?)
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