AKI, March 20, 2008
Riyadh, 20 March (AKI)—No churches should be permitted in Saudi Arabia, unless Pope Benedict XVI recognised the prophet Mohammed, according to a Middle East expert.
While Saudi mediators are working with the Vatican on negotiations to allow places of religious worship, some experts believe it will not occur without this recognition.
Anwar Ashiqi, president of the Saudi centre for Middle East strategic studies, endorsed this view in an interview on the site of Arab satellite TV network, al-Arabiya on Thursday.
“I haven taken part in several meetings related to Islamic-Christian dialogue and there have been negotiations on this issue,” he said.
“It would be possible to launch official negotiations to construct a church in Saudi Arabia only after the Pope and all the Christian churches recognise the prophet Mohammed.”
“If they don’t recognise him as a prophet, how can we have a church in the Saudi kingdom?”
Ashiqi’s comments came after a declaration launched by the papal nuncio of the Persian Gulf, the archbishop Mounged El-Hachem, at the opening of the first Catholic church in Qatar last week.
The prelate had announced the launch of “treaties to construct a church in Saudi Arabia where it is banned to practise whatever religion they want outside Islam”.
El-Hachem estimated three to four million Christians in the Saudi kingdom who want to have a church.
A member of Saudi Arabia’s Consultative Council, Abdelaziz al-Thinani, rejected the prelate’s claims saying that there were no Christians among the Saudis who were all Muslims.
“Those few Christians do not reside in the country permanently, they come and go,” he said.
He denied there were four million Christians in the kingdom and said the issue of human rights should not be used to call for the construction of a Christian church.
Most of Saudi Arabia’s Christians are foreign workers. There are 8.2 million foreign workers in a country of 25.6 million people according to a report by the Saudi Labour Ministry.
Original article
(Posted on March 24, 2008)
Comments
When will the USA get wise and shut down every mosque in this country….they are an abomination!!! and so are all muslims!!
Posted by lydia at 7:33 PM on March 24
I have a feeling the Pope is testing Islam by going to the root of the Muhammadan Cult, to ascertain exactly how amenable to rational persuasion it’s hierarchy really is.
Already, we’re seeing the demagogues of the Cult of Muhammad showing their true stripes by the laying down of preconditions that are designed to cunningly negate Christianity, it’s foundations and its ministry according to the Muhammadan Cult’s teachings, ie, that Islam supercedes all other religions, their godheads and their prophets.
Well, in that case, the Pope should be insisting that Muslims recognise Christ as the Son of God while they remain domicile in Catholic based countries of Europe. After all, are not Christians in Muslim lands compelled to recognise and adhere to Islamic law, practices and every sensitivity?
Shouldn’t the Christian hierarchy of Europe be posing the ultimate question both in the theocratic and political arenas as follows:
1. Do Muslims have a right to be allowed to erect any houses of Muhammadan worship at all in Catholic lands. If so, how many and where?
2. Should Muslims be permitted to structurally maintain them
or
3. should they be forced to suffer such buildings to deteriorate into permanent disrepair and finally, collapse?
4. Have they a right to publically celebrate their Cult and its tenets in Catholic lands?
5. Have they a right to be granted separate facilities, schools and areas in which to dwell, AND propagate their Cult’s doctrines?
Posted by A Swain at 9:25 PM on March 24
8.2 million foreign workers in a country of only 25.6 million people? Either Saudis are incredibly lazy or don’t have the technical brains to do the work. Still,,, that would be about 100,000,000 foreign workers in America, that’s wild.
Posted by at 12:42 AM on March 25
Meanwhile they demand Europeans allow them to build their mosques where ever they see fit.
Posted by at 10:19 AM on March 25
“No churches should be permitted in Saudi Arabia, unless Pope Benedict XVI recognised the prophet Mohammed.” [said] Anwar Ashiqi, president of the Saudi centre for Middle East strategic studies.
The perfect answer to Anwar would be: “No new mosques should be permitted in the west, and the present ones will be closed down until their society recognizes Christ.”
Posted by Gary at 1:59 PM on March 25
Were I Pope, I would “recognize” Mohammad as a wicked pederast.
Posted by Michael C. Scott at 6:52 PM on March 26
I have no problem with this at all. The Saudis are just acting how we wish America and Europe would act.
Posted by Samuel at 2:12 AM on March 27
The perfect answer to Anwar would be: “No new mosques should be permitted in the west, and the present ones will be closed down until their society recognizes Christ.”
Posted by Gary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Actually, they do recognize Christ as one of their prophets. So your solution would not be effective, since it already exists.
Posted by at 2:38 PM on March 28
Perhaps it is time to step back and think if we need a church in Saudi. And also to see if we really need any mosques here. Seems to me we could do without those, and their followers.
On another note, let us meet OPEC with FOODSOURCE, and cut off their food to negotiate with them. I have been there, and if we cut off the food, they are in deep trouble. Same applies to most of the middle east. Yes, I have been in Saudi, UAE, OMAN, Qatar, Jordan. A more austere landscape cannot be imagined. They say hunger will make a man reevaluate his attitude towards work. I think the same applies to their attitudes. They have huge populations they never had before, and no way to feed them. Time for an attitude adjustment….
Posted by Dusty at 5:32 PM on April 1
