The State Department's top official for international religious freedom said Friday that Saudi Arabia continues "to be one of the worst actors in the world on religious persecution" -- a blunt assessment in light of the administration's consistent pro-Saudi policies.[...]
"Freedom of religion is not provided under the law. The government does not allow the public practice of any non-Muslim religion. The law criminalizes 'anyone who challenges, either directly or indirectly, the religion or justice of the King or Crown Prince.' The law criminalizes 'the promotion of atheistic ideologies in any form,' 'any attempt to cast doubt on the fundamentals of Islam,' publications that 'contradict the provisions of Islamic law,' and other acts including non-Islamic public worship, public display of non-Islamic religious symbols, conversion by a Muslim to another religion, and proselytizing by a non-Muslim," it notes.
The report describes discrimination against and abuse of Shiite Muslims, including up to 34 individuals who faced possible execution. Saudi Arabia executed 37 men, the majority of them Shiites, in April 2019. One of them was crucified. Three were minors when the kingdom said they carried out their crimes. [...]
The Chinese government has detained "possibly more than 2 million Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and members of other Muslim groups, mostly Chinese citizens, in specially built or converted detention facilities in Xinjiang and subjected them to forced disappearance, torture, physical abuse, and prolonged detention without trial because of their religion and ethnicity since April 2017," the report notes.
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