Saudi Arabia
Hajj row escalates as Iran and Saudi Arabia miss new deal
By RNS staff — May 28, 2016
RIYADH (Reuters) It's the second failure by the rival Middle East powers to strike a deal.
Saudi Arabia says it will punish anyone linked to Hezbollah
By Reuters — March 14, 2016
DUBAI -- Hezbollah has close ties to Iran, Saudi Arabia's bitter rival for power in the region.
Attack on Saudi Shiite mosque kills four
By Reuters — January 29, 2016
DUBAI -- Security forces prevented two suicide bombers from entering the mosque, where one blew himself up, killing four. Security forces exchanged fire with the second man and arrested him.
Shiite cleric’s execution jeopardizes regional security (ANALYSIS)
By Raza Ahmad Rumi — January 8, 2016
(RNS) Saudi Arabia and Iran are engaged in a regionwide power struggle that is exacerbating the historic Sunni-Shiite split.
Anger grows in Saudi Arabia’s Shiite areas after executions
By Reuters — January 7, 2016
Footage of marchers shouting "down with the Al Saud" and other anti-government slogans is circulating on social media along with video clips showing shots fired at armored cars.
Iraqi Shiites protest Saudi execution of cleric
By Reuters — January 4, 2016
Iraqi Shiites marched in Baghdad and southern cities. At least two Sunni Muslim mosques were attacked and two people killed.
Muslim clerics must reject notions of non-Muslim inferiority (COMMENTARY)
By Raza Ahmad Rumi — December 16, 2015
(RNS) Islamophobia cannot be an excuse for allowing the swell of seminaries and clerics that cherry-pick the Quran and preach hatred of Christians, Jews and other "unbelievers."
Saudi Arabia announces 34-state Islamic military alliance against terrorism
By Reuters — December 15, 2015
DUBAI (Reuters) The U.S. has been increasingly outspoken about its view that Gulf Arab states should do more to aid the military campaign against ISIS.
Saudi Arabia stifled true death count in hajj stampede: 2,411
By RNS staff — December 10, 2015
(RNS) The Associated Press counted the deaths in Mina, Saudi Arabia, and found a total that's three times more than Saudi officials have stated.
‘Own it!’ Terrorism is an Islamic issue, say some Muslims
By Cathy Lynn Grossman — December 4, 2015
(RNS) The U.S has no clear ideological campaign to fight ISIS or Islamists and President Obama is ducking reality by refusing to label Islamic terrorism, said a panel of progressive Muslims.
Saudi court rules a Palestinian poet must die for apostasy, rights group claims
By Reuters — November 20, 2015
Human Rights Watch says the poet, Ashraf Fayadh, was condemned for his writings and allegedly abandoning Islam.
Bike lanes * Saint Barbie * So long: October’s Religious Freedom Recap
By Brian Pellot — November 2, 2015
Churches attack bike lanes for "burdening" their religious freedom as Saint Barbie leads a plastic revolution in Argentina. Savor every word of this last ever recap as I say “so long” to On Freedom.
Saudi blogger Raif Badawi wins EU’s Sakharov rights prize
By Reuters — October 29, 2015
(Reuters) A Jeddah court handed Badawi his sentence in 2012 after he criticized the Saudi clergy in a blog and called for changes in the way religion is practiced in Saudi Arabia.
Open sectarianism in Saudi Arabia frightens Shiites
By Reuters — October 27, 2015
QATIF, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) The fate of Saudi Arabia's 2 million or so Shiites is closely watched because of the country's intimate involvement in the region's sectarian conflict through its rivalry with Iran and the teachings of its influential clergy that Shiism is heretical.
Kardashian pope * Kim Davis * Beef party : September’s Religious Freedom Recap
By Brian Pellot — October 2, 2015
Celebrity Pope Francis photobombed selfies on his U.S. album launch tour. Conservative “It Girl” Kim Davis sat in jail and won awards for not doing her job. And India threw a “beef party” to celebrate religious tolerance and protest new meat bans.
