Atheists classified as terrorists under new Saudi Arabian laws
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By Sara C. Nelson
Atheists are being defined as terrorists under a raft of new Saudi Arabian laws, a report from Human Rights Watch states.
The new laws are accompanied by a series of related royal decrees which appear to criminalise virtually all dissident thought or expression as terrorism.
‘Saudi authorities have never tolerated criticism of their policies, but these recent laws and regulations turn almost any critical expression or independent association into crimes of terrorism,’ said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW.
Regulations from the Interior Ministry cite ‘terrorism’ provisions to include: ‘Calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based.’
Those who swear allegiance to any party, organisation, current of thought, group or individual inside or outside the kingdom are also included in the provisions. The Muslim Brotherhood and various Al-Qaeda factions ...
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