In Saudi Arabia, there are no churches. Publicly practicing any religion other than Islam is illegal and prohibited.
Saudi Arabians and other Muslims build mosques in all countries, including holding rallies to demand more privileges from host states. Sadly, other religions do not enjoy these rights in Arab countries. Islam is the approved state religion and any attempt to practice another religion publicly has the propensity to attract punishment from authorities.
In 2011, Human Rights Watch reported the arrest of 35 Christians by Saudi authorities, including 29 women subjected to arbitrary body cavity search. This US State Department also reported few years later that Saudi Arabia’s religious police deported 12 Ethiopian Christians caught worshipping in Dammam, and raided a home after hearing it was used for church services.
Today, 2025, not much has changed. The public practice of any other religion apart from Islam is strictly prohibited and punishable in Saudi Arabia, so also other Arab countries.
In Syria, the constitution specifies that the President must be a Muslim. Only a few days ago, it was also reported in Syria that the terrorist group, Islamic State (ISIS), attacked a church, killed 25 people and injured 60 others.
Hostile policies like State ban on other religions are seen as one of the catalysts which embolden extremists to act with impunity.
Authorities in Islamic countries have also not done enough to protect people of other faith from terrorist attacks. In fact, the terrorist groups see a common agenda with the authorities as they both agree there should be no other religion apart from Islam and defaulters should be punished.
So, while Muslims enjoy variety of rights and even take the streets to protest and ask for more in other societies, same cannot be said for other religions in their country.
To address this anomaly, the international community must realize that it’s simply not enough to condemn these dastardly attacks. Muslim/Arab leaders must be held accountable for their inaction or lack of sufficient action. They simply have to do more to protect people of other faith.
Religious tolerance should be part and parcel of every society where human beings cohabit.
It may also be necessary for countries with open religious policies, to consider a policy of tit for tat for Islamic countries that prohibit practice of other religions in their country. If a country has a zero tolerance for other religions, the country whose nationals are prohibited from practicing their religion in that country should do likewise for citizens of that particular country.
Summarily, to address this situation, tit for tat policies should be considered and enacted to get Islamic leaders to do more to accommodate and protect other religions in their country. We must insist that what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
