EU-DIGEST

Saudis set poor example for religious tolerance - by Joel Brinkley - McClatchy-Tribune News Service

If you are the undisputed monarch of a wealthy nation, you probably think you can say or do most anything without repercussion. But when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia stood before the United Nations earlier this month to proclaim his opposition to “religious intolerance,” anyone listening would have to think: Of all the gall! Abdullah actually sponsored the event: a U.N. conference on interfaith dialogue. The amazing thing is that any Saudi who advocates “interfaith dialog” is likely to be arrested, tried and executed — beheaded by sword. President Bush was among the heads of state who attended Abdullah’s conference. Oh, the price we have to pay to assure an uninterrupted supply of oil. Abdullah’s “interfaith dialogue” is the most compelling recent argument for launching a major new program to achieve energy independence. Saudi Arabia, it happens, is the world’s most intolerant state on religious matters. Sure, many other nations are guilty of atrocities committed in the name of religion. We humans have a long and sorry history of that. Today, however, only in Saudi Arabia are these rules institutionalized on such a broad scale — and enforced. Consider a few recent decisions both amusing and grave. Last summer, the kingdom banned the ownership of cats and dogs. Why on earth? It turns out that the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (a.k.a., the religious police) found that men out walking their dogs were apt to chat with a woman they happened to pass in the park.

In his address to the U.N. conference, Abdullah implored: “We say today with a single voice that the religions through which Almighty God sought to bring happiness to mankind should not be turned into instruments to cause misery.” If only the king would follow his own advice.

Labels: Religious tolerance, Saudi Arabia