Dammam is the capital of the oil-rich Eastern province
Posted on 05/11/2003 3:21:20 AM PDT by Ranger
First Published 2003-05-10, Last Updated 2003-05-10 16:05:04
Dammam is the capital of the oil-rich Eastern province
Saudi authorities launch investigation into arson attacks on three Shiite mosques on Tarut island.
RIYADH - Authorities in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province have launched an investigation into what appear to have been arson attacks on three mosques for the Shiite Muslim minority a few days ago, residents said Saturday.
Unidentified assailants set small fires in three mosques on Tuesday and Wednesday on the Tarut Island in the Gulf, 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Dammam, the capital of the oil-rich province, they said.
The motives of the attacks have not been established. No casualties were reported and material damage was limited.
The incidents come less than two weeks after representatives from the Shiite community in the Sunni-dominated kingdom held a landmark meeting with Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and pressed for equality.
The meeting took place April 30 and the delegation submitted to Prince Abdullah a memorandum signed by 450 Shiites calling for an end to discrimination and permission to be employed in sensitive sectors.
According to sources familiar with the 18-man delegation, the meeting was "very positive and the prince promised more meetings in the near future."
The memorandum reaffirmed the loyalty to the kingdom of two million Shiites concentrated in the Eastern Province, and their concern for national unity.
It called on the kingdom's leadership to issue "a clear declaration affirming respect for the rights of Shiites and treating them on an equal footing with other citizens."
It demanded fair representation in official Islamic bodies like the Muslim World League, the International Islamic Relief Foundation and the World Assembly for Muslim Youth.
It urged an end to sectarian discrimination and for Shiites to be allowed to take up jobs in the military and the security and diplomatic services.
It also called for the formal outlawing of all forms of discrimination.
Saudi Arabia follows the austere Wahabi school of Sunni Islam and there have been tensions in the past with the Shiites, who form about 10 percent of the kingdom's 17 million-strong indigenous population.
The September 11, 2000 attacks by mainly Sunni Muslims and the war on Iraq, where Shiites are in the majority, have provided unprecedented freedom to Saudi Shiites who are now openly demanding their rights.
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