A series of recent measures in Saudi Arabia and Iran
that violate the rights, if not endanger religious and ethnic minorities call
into question their moral claims of adhering to core faith-based values of
mercy and compassion.
If anything, the two arch rivals compete in violating
the rights of minorities like Uighurs threatened with deportation to China
where they run the risk of being incarcerated in re-education camps in the
troubled, north-western province of Xinjiang; Rohingyas who have been the
victims of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar; and persecuted Bahais and other
religious minorities in Iran.
Saudi and Iranian policies seem more in line with
those of authoritarian and autocratic leaders who often seek their legitimacy
incivilisationalismthat emphasizes the supremacy of a distinct
civilization at the expense of others rather than principles of
humanitarianism.
The plight of threatened Muslim majorities alongside
potential different Muslim responses to US President Donald J.Trump’s controversial Israeli-Palestinian
peace planthat favours Israel is
likely to sharpen a struggle for leadership of the Islamic world between a
Saudi-UAE-led alliance and countries like Turkey, Iran and Malaysia.
Beyond Iran and Saudi Arabia’s overall abuse of
universal human rights, recent reports highlight their failure to ensure the
safety and rights of persecuted minorities – a principle that was left, right
and center in this week’s commemoration of the75th anniversary of the
liberation of Auschwitz, the German
extermination camp in Poland.
“Auschwitz did not fall from the sky,” said
93-year-old historian and Auschwitz survivor Marian Turski.. He argued that
Auschwitz was the result of thousands of small steps that stripped minorities
of their dignity and humanity. “The 11th commandment is thou shalt
not be indifferent.Do not be indifferent when any minority
is discriminated against,” Mr. Turski
said.
Mr. Al-Issa’s visit was designed to project the
kingdom under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who hasdefended the crackdown, as a religiously tolerant country that has broken
with the intolerant aspects of ultra-conservative Islam, not only in its discrimination
against women but also in its attitudes towards other faiths and minority
groups.
Mr. Al-Issa heads the Muslim World League that for
decades was one of the prime Saudi vehicles for the global promotion and
funding of Sunni Muslim ultra-conservatism.
The world must ensure that “these kinds of horrible
crimes” will never “happen again,” Mr. Al-Issa said in Auschwitz, echoing
statements by multiple Auschwitz survivors who insisted that ‘never again’ was
a principle applicable to all persecuted minorities, not just Jews.
“Unfortunately, humanity is still suffering from these
kinds of crimes on a large scale today, different human beings against each
other. I believe there is a huge responsibility on the international community
to do something to deal with these kinds of horrible crimes and to make sure
none of this will happen again. Our world will not be able to achieve peace
unless we have a strong will together to fight evil,” Mr. Al-Issa said in
Auschwitz.
Fighting evil would mean that arrangements are found
for Uighurs rendered without valid documents as a result of Chinese policy, if
not in the kingdom itself in cooperation with other countries rather than
exposing them to the risk of indefinite incarceration.
Rohingya began migrating to Saudi Arabia in the 1950s
and were granted residency by King Feisal in 1973, allowing them to live, work
and travel within the kingdom and abroad.
Thousands of Rohingya have, however, been expelled in
recent years as illegal immigrants or because they entered the kingdom on false
documents, the only papers available to them, as part of Prince Mohammed’s
efforts to reduce dependence on foreign labour and increase employment
opportunities for Saudi nationals.
The ruling eliminated the category ‘other’ on the
application forms for the card that is needed to access government and banking
services as well as numerous other transactions.
The ruling targets Baha’is, members of a sect viewed
as heretic by mainstream Islam, and other sects, forcing them to lie to obtain
the identity card.
Baha’i leaders have been imprisoned and those who
openly follow the faith are routinely denied university education and
employment, while members of the community have seen their businesses shut down
and land confiscated by the state.
“Dear citizen, we wish you health. The law neither
recognizes your religion nor offers a solution. You may submit your application
under existing options,” the authority said.
James M. Dorsey
Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture.