Can you even imagine what 600 lashes can do to human flesh? If his sentence is upheld, 30 year-old Raif Badawi, a young Saudi Arabian website editor, will experience this savagery, along with seven years in a Saudi prison. Badawi was convicted on July 29, 2013 for insulting Islam, violating the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s anti-cybercrime law, speaking ill of Saudi Arabia’s religious police, and parental disobedience. The Clarion Project explains that Badawi’s “Free Saudi Liberals” forum was to promote “liberal thinking by encouraging participants to voice their opinion about religion in the Kingdom.”
According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which has designated Saudi Arabia as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for years, Badawi was first arrested in Jeddah in June 2012. He was, at that time, charged with apostasy, “insulting Islam through electronic channels,” and “going beyond the realm of obedience.” Thankfully, in January 2013, a Saudi court determined there was insufficient evidence of apostasy, when, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Badawi confirmed that he was a Muslim. Says HRW, “According to his lawyer, the court required Badawi to recite the Shehadeh, the Muslim declaration of faith, in order to drop to apostasy charges.” Conviction of apostasy carries the death penalty in the Kingdom.
On July 31, the new Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Dr. Robert George, issued a press release expressing USCIRF’s condemnation of Badawi’s blasphemy conviction. “”The only thing Mr. Badawi appears to be guilty of is creating a platform on the Internet for religious debate in Saudi Arabia, a right he is guaranteed to under international law,” said George. “All charges should be dropped and Mr. Badawi should be released immediately and unconditionally,” he added.
USCIRF again recommended in 2013 that Saudi Arabia be designated as a CPC “for systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, despite the Saudi government’s progress over the past year on some policies and practices.” USCIRF says that although the State Department has designated Saudi Arabia as a CPC since 2004, “the Department put into place an indefinite waiver on taking any action in consequence of the CPC designation.” USCIRF recommends “that the U.S. government replace the indefinite waiver of action with a limited 180-day waiver, during which time the Saudi government should advance and complete reforms, including those confirmed in July 2006 in U.S.–Saudi bilateral discussions.”
The IRD’s Religious Liberty Program will follow this case, both for the sake of Raif Badawi, and because it demonstrates the complete lack of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia so well, reaching even to those who have not left Islam, but want others to enjoy the freedom to choose their own religion. If this is the punishment for a Muslim, the punishment for a Saudi who leaves Islam for Christianity is almost unthinkable. Please pray for Raif, and for all of those who are in danger for their religious beliefs in Saudi Arabia.
No comments yet
