“You will be denied a visa to perform hajj,” warned a friend. Others echoed the warning when they learned that I was serving as an expert witness in the case of a Christian seeking asylum from Saudi Arabia.
As the fifth pillar of Islam, access to Makkah to perform the hajj is critical to redemption.
In line with the Quran’s directive to stand for justice, whether it be for or against oneself, my response was that challenging the human rights abuses by the Saudi regime is worth the risk of being banned from performing a ritual. God is on the side of truth.
It’s no surprise to some that one of our main allies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, is also one of the world’s most egregious human rights violators. Discrimination against women is well known, but the treatment of non-Muslims is not so much.
Riyadh prohibits the public practice of any religion other than the rigid Salafi (known as “Wahhabi”) interpretations of Islam. Alternative Sunni and Shi’a interpretations are repressed and even persecuted. But the approximately two million non-Muslims bear the brunt of it.
The government has publicly affirmed the right of non-Muslims to worship in private. However, the Mutawwa’in (the religious police) do not always respect this right in practice. It is further complicated by the fact the right is not defined in state law. In fact, there are no explicit guidelines as to what constitutes private or public worship.
This lack of clarity results in instances of inconsistent enforcement by the Mutawwa’in, who have been known to arrest, imprison, lash, deport, and sometimes even torture worshippers.
Non-Muslim clergy are also denied entry into the country, making it difficult to perform certain rituals and even learn about their respective religious traditions.
In contrast with the Quran’s teaching that there is no compulsion in religion, under Saudi law, conversion out of Islam is considered apostasy, a crime punishable by death if the accused is male and fails to recant. There have been several convictions, though thankfully there are no documented instances of executions being carried out since the early 1990s.
Women and religious minorities are not the only ones to suffer. In fact, Human Rights Watch reported last month that prosecutions and convictions of activists and dissidents are up significantly. Earlier this year two prominent activists were sentenced to long jail terms for contacting international media and human rights groups.
“Saudi Arabia repeatedly demonstrates its complete intolerance toward citizens who speak out for human rights and reform,” said Sarah Whitson, HRW Middle East director.
Despite a slew of rights violations, Western powers have not only refrained from calling out the monarchy, but in fact have emboldened them by aligning themselves with Riyadh.
Over the last few decades, the U.S. and the U.K. have relied on the ruling family to broker political support, weapons, and cash to co-opt groups within Muslim nations. This in turn has helped fuel destructive sectarian and ethnic proxy wars around the globe.
Canada is not innocent. Last year Ottawa approved a $15-billion arms deal. The contract calls on General Dynamics (Canada) to deliver 1,000 light armoured vehicles to the regime over the next decade. Since the 1990s more than 3,000 LAVs, which are often equipped with weapons, have been shipped to the Kingdom.
Disturbingly, Ottawa blessed the arrangement although a Western-backed, Saudi-led coalition bombings runs had unleashed a humanitarian crisis in Yemen while fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
According to the UN, more than 10,000 have been killed and more than three million — including 2.1 million children — are acutely malnourished. This includes more than 450,000 children under five who risk dying of pneumonia or diarrhea.
“Seven million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from and we now face a serious risk of famine,” says UN relief co-ordinator Stephen O’Brien.
Recently, the U.K. has seen calls to end arms sales and to investigate possible violations of humanitarian law in Yemen.
The prophet Muhammad reportedly said, help your brother whether he is the oppressed or the oppressor. When the companions retorted, we know how to help the oppressed, but how so the oppressor? The prophet replied, by restraining him.
Hajj or no Hajj, it’s time to call out the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” and for Canada to restrain its ally by ending our complicity though silence and weapons exports.
Faisal Kutty is counsel to KSM Law, an associate professor at Valparaiso University Law School in Indiana and an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. @faisalkutty
