Saudi Arabia: The current situation and treatment of Ahmadis

There are two branches of the Ahmadi faith. The Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam–Canada, whose headquarters is located in Toronto, is a Qadiani (Ahmadi) Muslim organization. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore Inc. (USA) in Columbus, Ohio, is a Lahori (Ahmadi) Muslim organization, whose headquarters, the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Lahore, are located in New Garden Town, Lahore, Pakistan.

Due to the detailed nature of the question, the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam–Canada was not able to respond within the time constraints of this Request.

In a 17 November 1999 letter, the General Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Lahore stated that

If anybody applies for a visit to Saudi Arabia, and declares himself to be Lahori Ahmadi, he is not granted the visa, therefore officially there is no Lahori Ahmadi community in Saudi Arabia. We do not have any record of Lahori Ahmadis who might have gone to Saudi Arabia because of business and personal connection.

Please note that the Secretary General did not indicate whether or not there is a native Lahori community in Saudi Arabia, nor did he provide any information on the situation and/or treatment of its leaders and members.

The following information from the 9 September 1999 U.S. Department of State Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999 provides detailed information on the freedom of religion, societal attitudes, and the situation and treatment of religious minorities, including Shi'i Muslims, in Saudi Arabia. Although this document does not refer specifically to Ahmadis, it is nevertheless illustrative.

Section 1. Freedom of Religion

Freedom of Religion does not exist. Islam is the official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims. The Government prohibits the public practice of other religions. Private worship by non-Muslims is permitted.

The Government has declared the Islamic holy book the Koran, and the Sunna (tradition) of the Prophet Muhammad, to be the country's Constitution. The Government bases its legitimacy on governance according to the precepts of a rigorously conservative form of Islam. Neither the Government nor society in general accepts the concept of separation of religion and state.

Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy. Public apostasy is a crime under Shari'a (Islamic law) and punishable by death.

Islamic practice generally is limited to that of the Wahabi order, which adheres to the Hanbali school of the Sunni branch of Islam as interpreted by Muhammad Ibn Abd Al-Wahab, an 18th century religious reformer. Practices contrary to this interpretation, such as visits to the tombs of renowned Muslims, are discouraged.

The Shi'a Muslim minority (roughly 800,000 of nearly 14 million citizens) lives mostly in the Eastern Province, where it constitutes about one-third of the population.

Approximately 6 million foreigners, including about 1.2 million Indians, 1.2 million Egyptians, 800,000 Pakistanis, 600,000 Filipinos, 130,000 Sri Lankans, and 40,000 Americans live throughout the country. These foreigners include Muslims of different denominations, Christians of different denominations, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, agnostics, and atheists. 

There are no statistics available regarding the exact number of foreigners in the country belonging to each religion or denomination, and foreigners continually arrive and depart when their labor contracts expire. One available statistic reveals that over 90 percent of the Filipino community (or well over half a million persons) is non-Muslim, and includes Catholics and Protestants.

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs directly supervises, and is a major source of funds for, the construction and maintenance of almost all mosques in the country. The Ministry pays the salaries of imams (prayer leaders) and others who work in the mosques. A governmental committee is responsible for defining the qualifications of imams. The Government monitors mosques to prevent the raising of politically and religiously sensitive subjects during sermons. Religious police, or Mutawwa, make up the Committee to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice, which receives its funding from the Government. The President of the Mutawwa holds the rank of cabinet minister.

The Mutawwa have the authority to detain persons for no more than 24 hours for violation of strict standards of proper dress and behavior. However, they sometimes exceeded this limit before delivering detainees to the police. Current procedures require a police officer to accompany the Mutawwa at the time of an arrest. Mutawwa generally complied with this requirement. During 1998 in the more conservative Riyadh district, the number of reports received of Mutawwa accosting, abusing, arresting, and detaining persons alleged to have violated dress and behavior standards was slightly higher than in 1997. The Jeddah district received a similar number of reports as in 1997.

Mutawwa practices and incidents of abuse varied widely in different regions of the country, but were most numerous in the central Nejd region, which includes Riyadh. In certain areas, both the Mutawwa and religious zealots acting on their own harassed, assaulted, battered, arrested, and detained citizens and foreigners. The Government requires the Mutawwa to follow established procedures and to offer instruction in a polite manner; however, Mutawwa did not always comply with the requirements. The Government has not criticized publicly abuses by Mutawwa and religious vigilantes but has sought to curtail these abuses.

Mutawwa enforcement of strict standards of social behavior included the closing of commercial establishments during the five daily prayer observances, insisting upon compliance with strict norms of public dress, and dispersing gatherings of women in public places. Mutawwa frequently reproached Saudi and foreign women for failure to observe strict dress codes, and arrested men and women found together who were not married or closely related.

However, in early 1999, criticism of the Mutawwa began to appear in the largely government-controlled press. Also, according to reports, the Mutawwa are no longer permitted to detain citizens for more than a few hours, may not conduct investigations, and may no longer allow unpaid volunteers to accompany official patrols.

Members of the Shi'a minority are the objects of officially sanctioned political and economic discrimination. Prior to 1990, the Government prohibited Shi'a public processions during the Islamic month of Muharram and restricted other processions and congregations to designated areas in the major Shi'a cities. Since 1990 the authorities have permitted marches on the Shi'a holiday of Ashura, provided that the marchers do not display banners or engage in self-flagellation. Ashura commemorations took place during the period covered by this report without incident. The Government seldom permits private construction of Shi'a mosques. The Shi'a have declined government offers to build state-supported mosques because the Government would prohibit the incorporation and display of Shi'a motifs in any such mosques. 

Government security forces reportedly arrest Shi'a on the smallest suspicion of subversion and pro-Iranian activities, hold them in custody for lengthy periods, and then release them without explanation. 

In November several Mutawwa attacked and killed an elderly Shi'a prayer leader in Hofuf for repeating the call to prayer twice (a traditional Shi'a practice). Mutawwa attempts to cover up the killing were unsuccessful. The Government reportedly was investigating the incident, but there has been no further information on the case.

Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, some Shi'a suspected of subversion have been subjected periodically to surveillance and limitations on travel abroad. The Government actively discourages Shi'a travel to Iran to visit pilgrimage sites, although Saudi Shi'a are permitted to visit holy sites in Iraq. The Government still punishes Shi'a who travel to Iran, or are suspected of traveling to Iran, by confiscating passports for up to 2 years. Since beginning the investigation of the 1996 bombing of the U.S. military installation at Khobar in which a number of eastern province Shi'a were implicated, authorities have detained, interrogated, and confiscated the passports of a number of Shi'a, including Shi'a returning to the country following travel to Iran.

As of June 30, 1999, the Government reportedly still held in jail an unknown number of Shi'a arrested in the aftermath of the Khobar bombing.

Iqamas, cards that the Government requires both citizens and noncitizens to carry and which indicate the bearer's nationality, contain a religious designation for "Muslim" or "non-Muslim." The Government does not permit public non-Muslim religious activities among the numerous non-Muslim foreigners living in the country. Non-Muslim worshippers risk arrest and deportation for engaging in public religious activity that attracts official attention, especially proselytizing. There were no credible reports of government action against private religious services during the period covered by this report.

In 1997 for the first time, a senior government official stated publicly while outside the country that the Government does not "prevent" private non-Muslim religious worship in the home. Such private non-Muslim worship occurs on a wide scale throughout the country, including on the premises of several embassies. Other high-level authorities repeatedly confirmed during the period covered by this report that the Government's policy allows for private non-Muslim worship, and that the Government does not sanction investigation or harassment of such private worship services. In 1999 a senior government official stated that the Government would take measures against anyone who violated the rights of foreigners who engaged in private non-Muslim worship. However, the Government does not publicize this policy domestically, and it ascribes any residual harassment of private worship services or seizure of personal religious materials, such as Bibles or icons, to individuals and organizations acting on their own authority and in contradiction of government policy.

Representatives of many non-Muslim denominations present in the country report that the Government is not interfering with their private worship services.

However, proselytizing, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as Bibles, is illegal. The prohibition against proselytizing also includes the spreading of Muslim teachings not in conformance with the Hanbali school of Islam. One Dutch and 14 Filipino Christian activists, who were part of an externally organized evangelical Christian group, were arrested in June 1998 for actively engaging in efforts to proselytize citizens. All detainees were released and deported in July 1998. An additional nine Filipino activists left voluntarily or were on vacation and did not return after the July deportations. Deportations of over a dozen Filipino individuals identified as having connections with proselytizing groups began in September 1998 and continued into December. Those deportations took place without arrest except in two cases of brief detention, through an order signed by the Ministry of Interior. A Korean national was arrested on November 8, 1998, on accusations of proselytization of Christianity. While in custody, he was allowed visits by his family. He reported that no mistreatment occurred during his incarceration. He was deported to Korea in January 1999. As of June 30, 1999, there were no reports of religious detainees or prisoners.

Persons wearing religious symbols of any kind in public risk confrontation with the Mutawwa. This general prohibition against religious symbols also applies to Muslims. A Christian wearing a crucifix or a Muslim wearing a Koranic necklace in public might be admonished. A dress code requiring extreme modesty is enforced for Muslim and non-Muslim women alike. Particularly in the more conservative Nejd region, virtually all women wear an abaya (a long, black cloak), and many wear a headscarf while in public. Failure to adhere to the dress code may lead to admonishment by Mutawwa. Male modesty also is required. Males in short pants or shirtless while in public also risk admonishment.

The Government requires religious instruction in public schools at all levels. Classroom instruction generally is limited to that of the Hanbali school of Islam.

In accordance with Shari'a, women are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, but men may marry Christians and Jews as well as Muslims. 

Customs officials routinely open mail and shipments for contraband, including material deemed pornographic and non-Muslim religious material. Customs officials confiscated or censored materials considered offensive, including Christian Bibles and religious videotapes. 

There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report. 

… The authorities observe the Koranic injunction that there be no compulsion in religion. Religious authorities question individuals who state their intention to convert to Islam to ensure that they are acting of their own volition.

Section II. Societal Attitudes

Shi'a citizens constitute nearly 5 percent of the citizenry and are discriminated against in government employment, especially with respect to jobs that relate to national security, such as the military or the Ministry of Interior. The Government also restricts employment of Shi'a in the oil industry. Shi'a are the objects of government discrimination in higher education, in the form of unofficial restrictions on the number of Shi'a admitted to universities.

There are indications that improvements in relations with Iran (a predominately Shi'a nation) during the period covered by this report have affected positively the overall climate of Sunni-Shi'a relations. However, tension between the two branches of Islam persists. 

Relationships between Muslim citizens and foreign Muslims are generally good. Foreign Muslims of all denominations may pray freely in mosques as long as they follow the locally accepted prayer practices. There are no separate mosques for foreigners.

Relationships between Saudis and non-Muslim foreigners are shaped by the general circumstances of 14 million citizens and 6 million foreigners living in the same country. Relations in the historically isolated central Nejd region are characterized by a general sense of distance and reserve as citizens try to preserve their Arabic and Islamic heritage. There is a greater degree of tolerance toward foreigners in both the eastern and western provinces, where trade and pilgrimage have exposed citizens living in coastal areas to foreigners for many centuries. However, there were some incidents in which citizens complained to the authorities that missionaries had placed non-Muslim material in their homes or at mosques.

The overwhelming majority of citizens supports an Islamic state and opposes public non-Muslim worship. Muslim citizens often ask foreigners about religious matters to determine their religion, attitudes, and knowledge of Islam. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, about 50 so-called "Call and Guidance" centers employing a total of about 500 persons work to convert foreigners to Islam. Many non-Muslim foreigners (including Christians and Hindus) convert to Islam during their stay in the country. The press often carries articles about such conversions, including personal testimonials.

Additional information on the freedom of religion and the situation of religious minorities can be found in Country Reports for 1998.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam–Canada, Cumberland. 25 November 1999. Letter from the Eastern Missionary.

Ahmadiyya Anjuman Lahore. 17 November 1999. Letter from the General Secretary.

Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999: Saudi Arabia. 9 September 1999. U.S. Department of State. [Accessed 18 Nov. 1999]

Additional Sources Consulted

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. 26 February 1999. US Department of State. (WWW)

Electronic sources: various Internet sites, NEXIS.

Non-documentary sources:

Unsuccessful attempts to contact the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Ottawa.