IRF OFFICER MEETS WITH CHRISTIAN LEADERS

S E C R E T JEDDAH 000769 SIPDIS SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN, DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, DEPARTMENT FOR DRL/IRF - PLEASE PASS TO AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE JOHN HANFORD E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016 TAGS: KIRF SOCI SA SUBJECT: IRF OFFICER MEETS WITH CHRISTIAN LEADERS REF: A. JEDDAH 308 ¶B. JEDDAH 1175 ¶C. RIYADH 2475 Classified By: Consul General Tatiana C. Gfoeller for reasons 1.4 (c) and (d). ¶1. (S) Summary. In a visit to Jeddah and Dhahran, DRL/IRF officer Kate Lurie met with various leaders of the Christian communities. In Jeddah, Lurie and Poloff held several meetings with leaders of Christian congregations. In Dhahran, Lurie met with three Americans, two Protestants and one Catholic priest that service expatriate congregations. All leaders reported a decline in incidents of house raids and stated that the situation appears to be improving. They also noted that custom officials no longer confiscate personal religious materials as the use of scanning machines has eliminated the need for bag searches however, there continues to be concern about their vulnerability because of the lack of rule of law, lack of transparency by the Government and general mistreatment of foreign workers by Saudi citizens. End Summary. ¶2. (S/NF) Observing an Underground Church: A contact of the CG,s, a Filipino businessman (reftel) organized a meeting in his home with leaders of various Indian, Filipino, and African communities represented. One large room in the home has been converted to a meeting area. To soundproof the room, the businessman has used Styrofoam, egg cartons, extensive carpeting and curtains. Nevertheless, he did report that his neighbor, whom he described as a Mutawwa (Christian groups often do not distinguish between pious Muslims with a long beard and official members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice),complained on occasion and asked him if he was operating a nightclub. The businessman told the neighbor he and some of his friends are Christians singing worship songs and they would try to keep it down. The pious Muslim neighbor apparently saw no problem with this reply and has since then, left them alone. ¶3. (C/NF) In general, the pastors described that their situation has improved greatly over the last year. They reported that the number of anti-Christian incidents has decreased. In some cases, more and more groups are able to meet safely. They try to exercise caution, entering or leaving houses or rented buildings in no more than twos and threes. They also reported that there have been no problems in bringing personal religious materials into the country. One pastor reported that he once entered the country with a stack of Bibles in his native language. The guard noticed the stack on the scanner and asked what is it? He replied "books" and the guard left the matter alone. ¶4. (C) The group,s major complaint was the lack of recourse, a problem for all Saudi citizens. They also complained about the lack of transparency within the system. In general, they do not know their rights, they do not know where or how they should file complaints and lack representation by their Embassies and Consulates General. ¶5. (S/NF) A separate meeting was held with two American citizens who, in their personal capacity, work with a variety of Christian communities. They discussed methods that would guarantee the accuracy of incident reports and how to improve coordination. One Amcit explained that he fears upcoming acts of violence by terrorists that return from Iraq, much like the situation in 2003-2004 when many battle-trained Saudis returned from Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. While many Westerners and Saudi government buildings were being targeted by terrorists, there was a spike in raids and arrests of both local and expatriate Christian communities. ¶6. (S/NF) These Amcits were both involved in working with Post and the Department when five "converts" were arrested and detained for approximately 6 months. All, except one suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda in the Peninsula, were released. Since their release in April 2005, there has been contact with two out of the four. One suffered job problems when he left his government assigned job for a new, unapproved job. He was quickly fired from his new job and was reassigned a different government approved work assignment. His family has become alienated from him, but has not attempted to seriously hurt him. Another individual attempted to seek refugee status last spring in the United States but refused to meet with Embassy officials because of fear. Those who know him in the Kingdom have encouraged him to reach out to Australia, where his brother has attained asylum. There has been no word from the other two converts, who were last seen in the Western Province. It is believed that the fifth person is still in prison, although some who knew him before he was imprisoned do not believe he was tied to a terrorist organization. ¶7. (C/NF) In Dhahran, Lurie and Poloff met with three Amcit Christian leaders, one priest and two Protestant pastors who are associated with ARAMCO and authorized to minister by the SAG. There are several Roman Catholic priests who travel around the country and administer rites to the Catholic communities in the Kingdom. This priest explained that he will see up to 1000 people over the course of the week. Most of his congregations are not Americans, but Filipinos and Indians. One of the Protestant pastors also provides services for primarily Filipinos, Pakistanis and Indians. The other pastor,s church is largely made up of Amcits and Westerners. ¶8. (C/NF) All men noted that the situation has improved over the years. They told stories about zealous Mutawwa who occasionally cause problems, but noted that the Saudi government has been quick to step in and remove the troublemaker from the area. GFOELLER