Middle East Focus: Denied Dignity: Sectarianism and Discrimination in a Kingdom of Heavenly Pretenses……

Arabia Deserta

Denied Dignity: Sectarianism and Discrimination in a Kingdom of Heavenly Pretenses……

“The incidents at the Baqi' cemetery reflected in part these long-standing tensions, but they were also an outlet for anger among the Shia (who are 10-15 percent of the population) over systematic discrimination at the hands of the government in education, the justice system, and, especially, religious freedom. They also face exclusion in government employment. The government for its part reacted with repressive measures of arrest and a clampdown on public airing of Shia grievances rather than seeking dialogue to prevent further conflict......

“Nevertheless, underlying discrimination has risen. Since the February-March events, authorities have intensified ongoing restrictions on Shia communal life. Since 2008 the authorities have arrested and threatened the owners of Shia private communal prayer halls in Khobar to extract pledges to close them. Since 2001 the authorities in Ahsa' have imposed extrajudicial prison sentences on leaders of communal prayers and on persons selling articles used in Shia religious ceremonies such as `Ashura' and Qarqi'un, which remain prohibited in many Saudi Shia communities.......” Denied Dignity Human Right Watch (2009)

I never saw anything about this recent report in Alarabiya, Elaph, Alhayat, Asharq Alawsat, or in any newspaper of any of the moderate New Middle East. Iran’s election protesters, however, were and are covered extensively, as they should be. Neither the mullahs nor the royals should get away with oppression and repression.
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mhg
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