ICC Note: Last week President Obama met with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is one of the most restrictive governments in the world for Christians and for other religious minorities. Despite a letter from 70 members of congress urging the president to address these issues, he did not. President Obama has said that promoting religious freedom and human rights is a key objective of his foreign policy, and yet in a meeting with the king of one of the most egregious violators in the world, he said nothing.
By: Stoyan Zaimov
03/31/2014 Saudi Arabia (Christian Post) – Persecution watchdog group International Christian Concern asked why U.S. President Barack Obama failed to talk religious freedom with Saudi Arabia King Abdullah during his visit last week, after identifying the issue as a key component of U.S. foreign policy at the National Prayer Breakfast in February.
“This visit was an excellent opportunity for the president to speak up on an issue that affects millions of Saudi citizens and millions more foreign workers living in Saudi Arabia,” said ICC Middle East Regional Manager Todd Daniels in a statement Saturday.
“Only last month the president clearly stated that promoting religious freedom is a key objective of American foreign policy, and then reaffirmed that opinion in remarks following his meeting with Pope Francis on Thursday, according to the White House. On top of this, 70 members of Congress specifically asked him to publicly address the issue, as well as other human rights concerns, with King Abdullah today. How, despite all of this, the president could stay completely silent about religious freedom during his meeting is remarkable.”
Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Saudi Arabia on Friday, as part of efforts to strengthen the decades-old alliance between the two countries, Reuters reported. The talks between the two world leaders reportedly centered on the civil war in Syria and the nuclear capabilities of Iran, but did not touch on human rights issues.
The White House published a fact sheet on Friday about the meeting, noting that the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship also focuses on counterterrorism efforts and supporting negotiations to achieve Middle East peace.
The Islamic nation is ranked as No. 6 on Open Doors’ World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. Christians there are forbidden from practicing their faith publicly, and citizens who convert from Islam to Christianity face the death penalty.
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