Posted on February 1, 2005

Group Cites Saudi ‘Hate’ Tracts

Katherine Clad, Washington Times, Jan. 29

The government of Saudi Arabia is spreading “hate propaganda” in religious tracts sent to mosques throughout America, telling Muslims to hate Christians and Jews and to kill any Muslim who converts to another religion, a leading human rights group charged yesterday.

Saudi government literature collected during the past year from American mosques also tells Muslims living in the United States to “behave as if on a mission behind enemy lines,” says an 89-page report released by the Human Rights Group Freedom House.

The report, titled: “Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques,” is based on a yearlong study of more than 200 original documents, all published and disseminated by the government of Saudi Arabia.

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Mrs. Shea said that the mosques themselves were not scrutinized in the report, only the actions of the Saudi government.

In most instances, the report said, involvement by the Saudi government was immediately evident from the seal or name of a government department emblazoned on the cover of the literature.

Materials examined were easily identifiable as originating from the Saudi Embassy in Washington, the Education Ministry, the Saudi air force and other branches of the Saudi government.

The literature contained statements from Saudi religious figures appointed to government positions, and it was disseminated through mosques with known associations with the Saudi royal family, the report said.

These documents advised Muslims in the United States on how to snub Jews and Christians, for example by refusing to greet them and congratulate them on religious holidays.

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