[New York Post] Ali al-Ahmed - Several Middle Eastern and world leaders met in New York this week under UN auspices to discuss the world state of religious freedom, part of an initiative of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz on religious dialogue. Abdullah, an authoritarian ruler, leads one of the most (if not the most) religiously oppressive regimes, which has amply earned its nickname "Hatred's Kingdom." Jews, Christians and all other non-Muslims are not allowed to practice their faith inside the kingdom. Saudi schoolbooks teach that Christians and Jews are the eternal enemies of Islam. The obvious question that the West should be asking these leaders during the conference is: What are they doing in their own countries to stop religious oppression? The writer is director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington.
2008-11-14 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive