SAUDI ARABIA: GULF BUSINESSMAN SECRETLY MINISTERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L JEDDAH 000237

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR
TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED ADDEE)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI ARABIA: GULF BUSINESSMAN SECRETLY MINISTERS
TO CHRISTIANS


Classified By: Consul General Tatiana C. Gfoeller for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: A prominent businessman working for a major
Gulf corporation recently confided to the Consul General that
he is an ordained minister, who secretly counsels fellow
Christians within Saudi Arabia. During a dinner at another
Western Consul General's residence, the gentleman detailed
his conversion to the Protestant faith after he was punished
during his youth for political activities in his native
Philippines and outlined the challenges faced by Christians
within the Kingdom. END SUMMARY
GOVERNMENT DISSENT LEADS TO CONVERSION


2. (C) At a recent dinner party held at the residence of a
Western Consul General in Jeddah, the US Consul General was
quietly approached by a Filipino businessman working for a
major Gulf corporation within the Kingdom. He initially
introduced himself as a Christian, and after that did not
illicit the recognition he had expected, he repeated, "I'm a
Christian, a born-again Christian" in an attempt to indicate
that he was not just a layman but an ordained minister. The
gentleman, who is in his mid-thirties and is well-tied to the
Western business and diplomatic community, explained to the
CG that he regularly met with other Christians in Saudi
Arabia in order to help them to explore their faith. Though
seated at the VIP table with other guests, including a
Western ambassador, the businessman described in whispers to
the CG his own conversion after having been arrested five
times for leading anti-government protests as a student in
the Philippines. One such incident left him so badly beaten
that he was confined to his home for weeks of recovery. It
was during this period that the businessman walked out to the
garden of his house and claimed to hear the voice of God
calling him to convert. Having previously been an atheist,
the gentleman sought advice from his grandfather, which
eventually led him to become a born-again Christian and,
ultimately, an ordained Protestant minister.

ADMINISTERING TO THE FAITHFUL


3. (C) The Filipino minister explained that he frequently
meets with other Christians in Jeddah to hold small services
in secret. The vast majority of attendees are other
Filipinos, who meet in groups of three or four at a variety
of people's homes. According to the businessman, most of his
contacts are lower-income laborers who have converted from
Catholicism. The greatest challenge is the absence of
Bibles. Though he did manage recently to smuggle in a set of
CDs with the entire Bible copied onto them, this did not
prove useful as the members of his "congregation" rarely have
access to computers. He did print some paper copies off the
CDs, but he admitted that these are cumbersome and dangerous
to carry around the country.
Gfoeller