World Watch List 2010:

#3. Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has moved from position 2 to 3. This does not mean the situation of religious freedom for Christians has improved. The minor loss of points is caused by the fact that contrary to the previous reporting period, we did not receive any reports of Christians killed or physically harmed for their faith and only one report of a Christian arrested.

A foreign pastor felt forced to flee the country after he received death threats, some coming from the "Mutaween," the Saudi religious police. Religious freedom does not exist in the Wahhabist kingdom where citizens are only allowed to adhere to one religion: Islam.

No legal protection is provided for freedom of religion, nor does this protection exist in practice. The legal system is based on Islamic law (Sharia). Apostasy - conversion to another religion - is punishable by death if the accused does not recant. Although the government recognizes the right of non-Muslims to worship in private, the public practice of non-Muslim worship is prohibited. Non-Muslim worshippers who engage in such activities risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation, and sometimes torture. Believers from a Muslim background also run the great risk of honor killing if their family or social environment discover their new faith.

About the Church (Persecution: Oppression)

A little over 4% of the population is Christian from expatriate background.
Islam is the official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims.
Public non-Muslim worship is forbidden, at the risk of arrest, imprisonment, flogging, deportation, and sometimes torture.
As most Christians are expatriates, they are generally allowed to worship privately but some have been arrested, issued with death threats and forced into hiding.
Citizens are denied the freedom to choose or change their religion.
Apostasy is a crime punishable by death if the accused does not recant, although in recent years there have been no known cases of kingdom citizens formally convicted and sentenced with capital punishment for the offense.
Proselytizing by non-Muslims, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as Bibles, is illegal.

Examples of Persecution:

Hamoud Saleh Al-Amri, 28, a Saudi Christian arrested in January 2009 for describing his conversion from Islam and criticizing the kingdom's judiciary on his blog site, was released on March 28 with the stipulation that he not travel outside of Saudi Arabia or appear on media. He was also detained in 2004 and in 2008 and was tortured both times. Compass Direct News, "Saudi Arabia Releases Christian Blogger," April 16, 2009
Fatima Al-Matayri, 26, was martyred in August 2008 after she proclaimed her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to her family in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. MES, The Way of Fatima martyred in Saudi Arabia, June 2009
A prominent foreign pastor in Saudi Arabia has fled Riyadh after a member of the mutawwa'in, or religious police, and others threatened him three times in one week. Compass Direct News, "Pastor in Saudi Arabia Flees Death Threats," Jan. 30, 2009

The Role of Open Doors:

To help change the situation in Saudi Arabia, we pray that those who find Jesus through satellite TV programs and the internet will find fellowship and spiritual encouragement.
We pray that expatriate and Saudi church leaders will be kept safe and have courage and wisdom and for freedom from fear for congregations whose leaders are in prison or hiding.

Prayer Points:

That those who find Jesus through satellite TV programmes and the internet will find fellowship and spiritual encouragement
That expatriate and Saudi church leaders will be kept safe and have courage and wisdom
For freedom from fear for congregations whose leaders are in prison or hiding.