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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 11849
[Religious]
Date Posted:
12/23/2004
5:03:42 am EST
Wvox Stats
Views: 13,797
RSS: 3,457
Comments: 12
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Where Is Christmas In Saudi Arabia?
Author: Donna Abu-Nasr, Associated Press Source: Newsday
Title: WHERE IS CHRISTMAS IN SAUDI ARABIA?
  It's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas in Saudi Arabia, where Islam is the only accepted religion and non-Muslim religious activities are banned in public.
Turkeys lie in deep freezers under shelves loaded with pumpkin pie spices, cranberry sauce, stuffing mix and tinned sweet potatoes. Yule log-shaped cakes sit in patisserie cases; a couple of bare, plastic Christmas trees stand in a boutique window; and gift wraps and glittering red, green, silver and gold candles appear in stores.
The little Christmas things count in a country accused by the U.S. State Department of "particularly severe violations" of religious freedom. This year, it placed the kingdom for the first time on a list of countries that could be subject to U.S. sanctions because of religious intolerance.
Saudi Arabia has stated publicly that its policy is to protect the right of non-Muslims to worship privately. However, Defense Minister Prince Sulta also stressed that the kingdom would never allow churches to be built.
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Community Thoughts: There are 12 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Take A Good Look, America | Dec 24th. at 12:27:39 pm EST |
by Labrys (Wash. state) - wc_xemail
What friends we have in the Saudi Arabians! Yes, I have studied enough Mideast history to know what a delicate position they are in, but also enough to know they can be completely insane over anything they consider religiously connected. But the rigid definitions go far beyond the American fundamentalist standard often half-jokingly described as the 'someone, somewhere, somehow, might be having fun' ban. This is what can all too easily happen when religion is wed to politics....and you think YOU have bad tempered inlaws!! So if this looks ugly, think about what our own government is doing to have little engagement parties..and look that bride over closely. We went to war on Iraq for presumed weapons violations and cause Saddam killed men who disagreed with him. Saudi Arabia beheads young women who marry the wrong guy.
Gee, why haven't we taken action on THAT? Oh, wait, nevermind, that was only a woman, and she shoulda minded her daddy, right?
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| Sanctions, Huh.... | Dec 23rd. at 8:47:42 pm EST |
by SnakeMan (Near Peoria, IL) - wc_xemail
" This year, it placed the kingdom for the first time on a list of countries that could be subject to U.S. sanctions because of religious intolerance. "
Sanctions? Ahahahahahahahahahaha! What are we going to do, stop buying oil from them?
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| I Was Stationed There | Dec 23rd. at 8:30:07 pm EST |
by Joe (Ft Worth, Texas) - wc_xemail
I was stationed in Saudi during the mid eighties while in the navy. When you receive orders there you are told a number of things like "no bibles, no pork and no booze." The religious police (yes, they do have such a thing) will look in your windows. If they see something of interest, like a tree or if you break ramadan's daylight fast, you will be arrested. There are some, usually fundies and not all American, who go there as missionaries. They are promptly arrested and locked up. The state department does not have the time to get every idiot out of Saudi jails. The military will get their people out of jail and literally on the next flight out. Christmas in Saudi? No then.
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| Yup... | Dec 23rd. at 7:28:31 pm EST |
by Annoyed (None) - wc_xemail
So Saudi Arabi isn't religious tolerant so U.S. may have sanctions but U.S. is being pushed by fundies to have all non-CHristian religions removed and followers either converted or killed.
Yeah....
Christians are going nuts over things now since CHrist didn't appear in 2000-2001 like they believed. Now they're scared of being wrong and another religion (s) maybe right. Aferall, wasn't Christianity hijacked so governments could control every aspect of their lives? Same for the Pope?
FOrcing their religion into our lives, having debates, Pres swearing on a verse, or teaching it in schools won't solve the problem of their doubt. They need to realize that Revelations wasn't a prophesy but a story . They need to stop taking the Bible literally and live their lives with others inpeace and stop their hatred and war-mongering.
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| It's Just Their Culture | Dec 23rd. at 5:12:52 pm EST |
by Tawaret (Austin, TX) - wc_xemail
When Christians in Saudi Arabia are thrown in jail for wanting to have a church community....
When Iranian women are half buried in the ground and stoned because their mothers forced them into prostitution...
When the holy places of the Pagan religions that predated Islam are destroyed, as in Bamiyan...
That's not intolerance or repression, that's just the culture of the Middle East, where they don't know any better. Just look at their brown skin. It automatically makes them right. We all know that real oppression is having to hear "Merry Christmas, " having the guy you didn't vote for win the election, people giving your pentacle dirty looks, and having to share a country with Christians.
Religious freedom means ALL religions. Including Christianity.
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| I Have No Respect For These People Who.. | Dec 23rd. at 12:23:12 pm EST |
by Jarnsaxa (Midgard) - wc_xemail
This is a country of Muslim faith. The people who reside here know this. They are fighting for the freedom to practice thier faith without the interference of the rest of the world. All we have to do is look to the states and see how Muslims are treated.. and I cannot blame them for not wishing this upon thier people. The fact is the "Christmas" season is a plagerized version of Pagan and Heathen traditions. The very fact that Sandle boy was born in July proves that they are perpetuating a holiday that has nothing what so ever to do with thier own religious faith. It is another excuse for the shrub to destroy a religion for his own personal agenda. It is a disgrace for the world to see.. Promoting religious tolerance by destroying another religion.. nice move
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| My Focus... | Dec 23rd. at 11:05:22 am EST |
by Silver Faery (USA) - wc_xemail
Personally, I admire the ones out there. Those are ones that are truely fighting for Christmas...the ones in this country do not know what that is like. They can still walk into almost any store this time of year, find cards, the trees, the trimmings. They can hold parties at home, at church they can go to their services.
Who cares what each person follows as long as they can follow.
Everyone is throwing a fit about the US going over and seeing about freeing the Christians and Jews there, why not, who would it hurt, if done right no one...there is killings do to religion over there all ready....what it so bad about stopping it! Nothing if you ask me.
I wish them safty and luck over there for the rest of this Holiday season and the rest of the year.
Silver Faery
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| Well... | Dec 23rd. at 9:59:11 am EST |
by Emrys (Illinois) - wc_xemail
The little Christmas things count in a country accused by the U.S. State Department of "particularly severe violations" of religious freedom. This year, it placed the kingdom for the first time on a list of countries that could be subject to U.S. sanctions because of religious intolerance.
Hmmm....
Pot, Kettle, Black.
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| Good Goddess!! | Dec 23rd. at 7:46:34 am EST |
by Serendyn (ID) - wc_xemail
"The little Christmas things count in a country accused by the U.S. State Department of "particularly severe violations" of religious freedom. This year, it placed the kingdom for the first time on a list of countries that could be subject to U.S. sanctions because of religious intolerance. "
I guess it's okay if you stop short of making the intolerance a law.
Blessed Yuletide to all.
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| Historians May Correct Me | Dec 23rd. at 7:20:09 am EST |
by MsDragonfly (Mississippi) - wc_xemail
Those who are more into history than I are free to correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that back before the Crusades, Muslim countries were somewhat tolerant of Christians and Jews. The Muslims may have considered these other groups misguided, but churches and temples were allowed.
Then came the Crusades. Is it any wonder the Muslims are less tolerant of Christians than they were way back when?
MsDragonfly
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| Political Intolerance | Dec 23rd. at 5:32:03 am EST |
by Traveler Farlander (Texas) - wc_xemail - Web
Last time I checked, Saudi Arabia was a sovreign nation with its own history and governmental setup. In other words, why is the US using economic sanctions to enforce our Constitution on countries and societies that aren't interested in having it? Saudi Arabia has every right to ban religions other than Islam if they choose.
Until the US can learn to be tolerant of its own citizens' varying religious choices and maintain a society where none of us are marginalized or feel left out, where government officials no longer demand their own religion's symbols be placed in public buildings (eg. Ten Commandments displays) while trying to ban other religions from being privately celebrated (eg. Bob Barr's crusade against witchcraft in the military) , we as a nation have no business telling any other nation how to conduct its internal affairs.
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