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In March, five members of the commission affirmed earlier reports that religious freedom does not exist there. Saudi Arabia still was not added to this year's list. Foreign-policy considerations kept Saudi Arabia off the cpc list last year, says Paul Marshall, a researcher at the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House in Washington. "Saudi Arabia, which has the world's largest oil reserves and is an important U.S. political ally, is to some degree a moderating influence in the Middle East."

USCIRF spokesman Lawrence Goodrich says the commission disagrees with the State Department's insistence on factoring foreign policy into cpc designations.

Diplomatic concerns should come into play only when weighing consequences, Goodrich maintains. "Nobody thinks making Saudi Arabia a cpc would be an easy decision," Goodrich says, "but. … we'd like to see the President, the Secretary of State, make that call."

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In July, Christianity Today covered the arrests of Jeddah Christians during home-church raids.

The U.S. Department of State's 2001 International Religious Freedom Annual Report said that "Saudi Arabia is an Islamic monarchy without legal protection for freedom of religion, and such protection does not exist in practice. Islam is the official religion, and all citizens are Muslims."

According to Christianity Today's Opinion Roundup, many religious freedom observers feel the State Department should designate Saudi Arabia as a Country of Particular Concern, but outside factors, including oil and the war on terrorism, may cloud the issue.

In early October, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged President Bush to continue to defend human rights and religious freedom. In August, the USCIRF pushed for Saudi Arabia and eight other countries to be named as Countries of Particular Concern.

Last week, a Christianity Today editorial said that "sometimes setting aside human rights is the way to ensure their ultimate victory."

Previous Christianity Today articles on religious persecution in Saudi Arabia include:

Four Christians Released By Saudi Authorities | One detained Filipino still waiting for employer's guarantee. (March 6, 2000)

Saudi Arabia Keeps Four Christians Under Arrest | Wives and children released after two weeks (Jan. 31, 2000)

Riyadh Police Raid Christian Worship Service | Ten adults, five children arrested; engineer still detained from previous arrest. (Jan. 10, 2000)

Christian Engineer Arrested in Saudi Arabia | Charges Against Filipino Termed "Religious-Related." (Dec. 27, 1999)

Arrested Christians Face Deportation | Popular Christians meetings lead to house-church raids. (Dec. 6, 1999)

Filipino Christians Released By Saudi Authorities | Local Employees Ordered to Fire and Deport Imprisoned Worshipers" (Nov. 3, 1999)

Two Filipino Christians Beheaded (Sept. 1, 1997)

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December 3 2001, Vol. 45, No. 15