We have long discussed our close alliance with Saudi Arabia despite that country’s denial of the most fundamental human rights for women, non-Muslims, journalists, and political dissidents. While the State Department continues to vaguely reference “reforms” in the Kingdom, the Saudi Sharia courts and religious police continue to generate shocking medieval cases where people are flogged or executed for exercising free thought or associations. The latest outrage is the death sentence given Ashraf Fayadh, a Palestinian poet and leading member of Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art scene. He has been sentenced to death for renouncing Islam, being an atheist (which he denies) and insulting Saudi Arabia. Many view his real offense as being his embarrassment of the infamous religious police (mutaween) in Abha after he posted a video of their lashing a man in public. As is often the case in the pseudo, “courts” of Saudi Arabia, he was denied counsel and any real opportunity to present a defense.
Fayadh, 35, was also accused of illicit relations with women due to photos on his phone, which he explained were actually taken during art events. Fayadh (who was born in Saudi Arabia) has been a member of the British-Saudi art organisation Edge of Arabia and represents the population of educated Saudis who want to see their country shed the religious ignorance, medieval practices and Sharia punishments that have long characterized the country. He was originally sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes by a court in Abha in May 2014. However, he was then retried by a new panel of judges that found that he could be put to death instead. He was unable to get a lawyer because the religious practice took his ID.
His supporters say that he was fingered by man who had a personal dispute over the appearance of contemporary art at a cafe in Abha. The man went to the religious police and said that he had cursed Muhammad, insulted the country, and promoted atheism in his book. The book, Instructions Within, published in 2008, is actually about his being a Palestinian refugee but in Saudi Arabia any example of free or creative thought is often seen as dangerous and blasphemous.
Of course, it is an outrage for the Saudis to continue to execute people who are atheists or viewed as guilty of apostasy. The Kingdom also bars any other religion from have a house of worship in the country. This is the same country that has sought to create an international blasphemy standard and has objected to any perceived slight against Islam in other countries.
Fayadh insisted that he is a faithful Muslim and repented any sins, but it did not matter.
Our (legitimate) criticisms of Iran seem deeply hypocritical when our close ally in Saudi Arabia continues to apply equally extreme applications of Islamic law and authoritarian practices. Indeed, it is hard to distinguish between the killing of homosexuals and artists by ISIS from such cases in Saudi Arabia beyond the rather laughable pretense of one of these Sharia “courts.” I have met very modern and educated Saudis who are ashamed of these abuses and want reform. However, the Kingdom continues to maintain a close alliance the Wahabi clerics in the imposition of extreme forms of Islamic law. It makes the work of women, journalists, and artists like Fayadh all the more inspirational when they face the threat of not only arrest by Saudi religious police but actual death at the hands of these grotesque Sharia courts.
Somebody on here talks about the Middle East being a large pirate territory and advises to fly over and flush. I say fly over and bomb. And sign that song about bombing Iran while doing it. They should have played that old song on SNL when The Donald was the host.
Drill more oil in N. America and beat down OPEC. Athiesm should be a pre-requisite to run for the Presidency in America. The Donald believes in self so maybe that is ok.
Royalsaudis fund 9/11, is and all and keep the palestinians as slaves instead of caring for them. But they keep the petrodollar afloat.
@Isaac:
In their 2004 book, “Encyclopedia of Wars,” authors Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod document the history of recorded warfare.
From their list of 1763 wars, only 123 have been classified to involve a religious cause, accounting for a mere 6.98% of all wars, 3.98% if Islam is excluded.
Moreover, religious wars account for less than 2 percent of all people killed in warfare.
For example, about 1-3 million people were killed in the Crusades, and 3,000 in the Inquisition, but 35 million soldiers and civilians died in the secular slaughter of World War 1 alone.
Ban secularism!
Ban atheism!
I bet this poet is wishing he just got a fat lip out of the deal.
Saudi Arabia is not a threat to Israel and in fact is in a de facto alliance with them because Saudi Arabia has contained itself in its own paranoia, something that Israel has done itself. As long as Israel remains the magnet for disgruntled Islamic youth and on the surface an enemy, the wizards in states like S A, Iran, and other extremist run nations can point to the ‘enemy’. Nothing makes for rallying around a government like an enemy identified. As long as Israel is under threat it can get away with what it has done, is doing, and will do to eliminate the Palestinians by eliminating their land.
Israel and Islam are nothing more than the same religious fairytale, one splintered off of the other, the same relationship that Judaism shares with Christianity. Shias, and Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and Wahabis, they all are nothing more than the same fairy tale at a different evolutionary stage. The world is experiencing the early paranoid stages of Islam. What is going on now is no different than what went on for centuries with Christianity and Judaism.
The more enlightened stages of Islam exist as they did with the other religions. The closer to the bone, unfortunately, the more perverse and paranoid the combination of religion and power. When religion evolves to a personal choice and is not shoved in society’s face, then it becomes as was intended, by choice and free will, not imposed under threat of death.
The bottom line for the West is to deal severely with any religious laws and customs that are objective to the laws of the vanguard of civilization, the West. Human rights, protected by law must make sure that there will never be children brought up to feel that because of their religion they stand ahead of the laws of their nation.
Saudi is just as bad as their proxy, the Salafist IS. And both are in league with Washington and Tel Aviv. As an American, this disgusts me. I want to vote for Putin.
Saudi Arabia is not a threat to Israel, and in fact is in a de facto alliance with them. The Saudis must feel like the Israeli conservative Jews are brothers in this struggle against modern, western ways.
Paranoia, the result of religious governance, is the fuel for these atrocities. The wizards that define life in Saudi Arabia are nothing more than cowards afraid of losing power and supported by the poobahs that are afraid of losing money. Has it ever been any different throughout history when religion gets into governance?
The release of people from this tyranny might cause some chaos, loss of innocent lives, and disruption. How would that be any different from any revolution. Saudis are, in the main, rich, educated, and probably the most ripe for elevation to higher human status. Perhaps that’s what makes them so dangerous to Israel and the West. Better to leave them in their subhuman, easy to categorize, and non threatening state.
“Fayadh (who was born in Saudi Arabia) has been a member of the British-Saudi art organisation Edge of Arabia and represents the population of educated Saudis who want to see their country shed the religious ignorance, medieval practices and Sharia punishments that have long characterized the country.”
I believe supporting causes like THIS throughout the Arab world is the only way to defeat radical Islam. There will need to be a reformation from within and our nation needs to show solidarity with those opposing these practices.
We complain about these things all the time but nothing changes.
U must respect the law where ever you are, as I might been accused by us law for something I see it normal in some regions of the world.
And we have spent American blood to protect these vicious princes. They are no better that ISIS.
North, central or south, nothing good comes out of Africa.
Agree with you, Tinear, white people came out of Africa :))
Don’t the Saudis know that sentencing a man to death for poetry and choosing to believe in Nature not Allah, is a violation of 1st Amendment?
Oh yeah that’s right, it’s an American law.
Saudis will kill you for not agreeing with them.
The muddle east is one big pirate territory. There are a few dictators who can sort of control the pirates. Saudi Arabia is a special sort of pirate territory. There is so much wealth there that the tents on the heads are quite expensive. Fly over and flush.
SA, our best ally in the ME. So glad to see America spreading of democracy around the world, starting with Woodrow Wilson, and getting only better and better every year since then.
/sarc off.
Saudi Arabia has beheaded more people this year than ISIS has. Enough said.
Stop the infernal death this and death that. God did not bring death. Guess who did? Stop obeying the enemy of God.