Talk about a lack of religious freedom.

Saudis might take Bibles from tourists
By MICHAEL FREUND

Despite a series of initiatives aimed at generating foreign tourism, the Saudi Arabian government continues to bar Jews and Christians from bringing items such as Bibles, crucifixes and Stars of David into the country and is threatening to confiscate them on sight, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

"A number of items are not allowed to be brought into the kingdom due to religious reasons and local regulations," declares the Web site of Saudi Arabian Airlines, the country's national carrier.

After informing would-be visitors that items such as narcotics, firearms and pornography may not be transported into the country, the Web site adds: "Items and articles belonging to religions other than Islam are also prohibited. These may include Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols such as the Star of David, and others."

Contacted by the Post, an employee of Saudi Arabian Airlines in New York, who would only give her name as Gladys, confirmed this rule was in force. "Yes, sir," she said, "that is what we have heard, that it is a problem to bring these things into Saudi Arabia, so you cannot do it."

An official at the Saudi Consulate in New York, who declined to give her name, told the Post that anyone bringing a Bible into the country or wearing a crucifix or Star of David around their neck would run into trouble with Saudi authorities.

"You are not allowed to bring that stuff into the kingdom," the consular official said. "If you do, they will take it away," she warned, adding, "If it is really important to you, then you can try to bring it and just see what happens, but I don't recommend that you do so."

Asked to explain the policy, the official said, "Every country has rules about what can or cannot enter."

Over the summer, the Saudi government-run Supreme Commission for Tourism announced a number of steps, such as issuing group visas to foreigners through tour operators and granting longer entry visas, in the hopes of boosting the number of foreign tourists to 1.5 million annually by 2020.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1186557401034&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


I'm not going to remove the crucifix I wear around my neck just so I can visit some intolerant, backwards country.

These are the people we peotected from Sodamn Insane in Desert Shield.

Yeah, Frogger, but you can hire a housemaid for pennies a month!

(Just don't try sneaking in a Bud Lite or they'll KILL you.)

:drinktoth

:drinktoth

*gathers stones to throw at Shiloh*

:hahanot:

"People drinking from glass bottles should cast no stones." :lolhit:

I would think that religious restrictions aside, many countries would have rules about what you can and cannot bring or do that are just as annoying or more. It's probably because we are used to religious freedom that you are offended more by this.

It's typical of the government of Arabia to do such things. However, I'd love to visit it. Just because it's home to Mecca and Medinah. If it weren't for that I wouldn't want to step in it.

The Saudis have long wanted it both ways with the US service personel stationed/serving there. Chaplins have been asked to cover their coller insignia off base/post/field if they're non-Muslim.

You may be right about the driving force being our presumption of religious freedom. But it may also be an article of faith that one should not denounce his faith or surrender the important symbols of it. Or, maybe that's the Bible your great granny gave you and it has value beyond its religious nature...I don't know, but the Saudis ought to better respect their guests.

the Web site adds: "Items and articles belonging to religions other than Islam are also prohibited. These may include Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols such as the Star of David, and others."

Oh MY!!!!!!!!!!

This is SO worng!!!

Why!, everyone "knows" that if a devout religious believer/superstitionist is forced to relinquish their precious religious icons for even one minute, their gawd will instantly desert them!!!

BWAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAaahahahaaaaaaaa!!!

You can't make this shit up!!!!!

_________________________

Creationism Explained:
The universe was created by an all-powerful all-knowing being who came down to us in the form of a cosmic Jewish mystic who was his own father who can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because the woman --who was created from a rib bone-- who birthed the entire human race was convinced by a talking snake to break the rules and eat from a magical tree.

And if you were to ever remove from said religious believer their Bible or their crucifix, they would experience complete abandonment by their invisible supernatural deity.

Makes perfect sense.

Wow, I have never been quite so impressed with your inability to get it!:thumbs:

Wow, I have never been quite so impressed with your inability to get it!:thumbs:

agreed

I simply ignore Freethinker as I would any nasty, bratty little child who feels it necessary to constantly pick his nose in public and fling boogers at people.

(Just don't try sneaking in a Bud Lite or they'll KILL you.)
There is no shortage of booze in the middle east...Trust me on this.

There is no shortage of booze in the middle east...Trust me on this.
Not that I don't trust you, Turd. (as much as I trust any turd!)

But would you expound on that statement? I had cousins who lived over there for a few years (while he worked for AMOCO) and they certainly had a different impression than yours.

How does booze get into the country if they won't even let a bible in???

*pictures moonshine still in desert tent*

There is no shortage of booze in the middle east...Trust me on this.

Not that I don't trust you, Turd. (as much as I trust any turd!)

But would you expound on that statement?

Hi SMW,
I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in that region since 2003. My time has been spent in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Egypt. While in these countries, all one has to do is befriend the locals and they can pretty much get you what you want in the way of alcohol.
In Egypt, there are many eating establishments that will serve alcohol once the restaurant staff recognizes and trusts you. We frequented several restaurants regularly while we were there and were able to drink at each one of them. Beer is available at just about every restaurant we visited during our six-month stay.
While in Kuwait, we even drank and played darts with off duty police officers. We were able to get just about anything we wanted just by making friends with the local people.
On one of my flights back to the U.S. from Saudi, I witnessed several *Muslim Saudi businessmen going to the restroom in their man dresses and returning dressed in very expensive business suits. Once back to their seats, they proceeded to order beer and other alcoholic drinks that are forbidden by their religion.


*I know for a fact they were Muslim because they were banging their heads on the ground just prior to boarding the aircraft.

Hi SMW,
I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in that region since 2003. My time has been spent in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Egypt. While in these countries, all one has to do is befriend the locals and they can pretty much get you what you want in the way of alcohol.
In Egypt, there are many eating establishments that will serve alcohol once the restaurant staff recognizes and trusts you. We frequented several restaurants regularly while we were there and were able to drink at each one of them. Beer is available at just about every restaurant we visited during our six-month stay.
While in Kuwait, we even drank and played darts with off duty police officers. We were able to get just about anything we wanted just by making friends with the local people.
On one of my flights back to the U.S. from Saudi, I witnessed several *Muslim Saudi businessmen going to the restroom in their man dresses and returning dressed in very expensive business suits. Once back to their seats, they proceeded to order beer and other alcoholic drinks that are forbidden by their religion.


*I know for a fact they were Muslim because they were banging their heads on the ground just prior to boarding the aircraft.
Interesting, TF. Thanks for the info. It's probably been at least 10 years since my cousins were over there. They raised two girls there who went to HS on the 'compound' in Egypt which overlooked the pyramids. Their mother (my cousin) LOVED living there... mainly because she could hire people to help her for little or nothing. Once, in Saudi, she decided she wanted to buy herself a car. Car dealers there wouldn't even TALK to her (a lowly woman) much less let her buy anything. So she had to have hubby fill out a form and bring it back. They still laugh about the fact that she put the note on a helicopter during a routine flight to his offshore location with another note from her saying, "Don't ask any questions... just sign the damn thing and we'll discuss it when you come home!" She finally got her car. But I don't think the citizens over there ever did warm up to a mouthy Texas woman in their midst. (yeah, it runs in my family)

You would be shocked at how the women are treated in that region. I have photos of farming men and women returning from the fields with the women's arms full of whatever they were harvesting and stuff piled three high on their heads while the men are empty-handed and riding on donkeys. The men always walk or ride several steps in front of the women and never beside them.:( I'll see if I can round up the pics and post them.

Talk about a lack of religious freedom.

Saudis might take Bibles from tourists
By MICHAEL FREUND

Despite a series of initiatives aimed at generating foreign tourism, the Saudi Arabian government continues to bar Jews and Christians from bringing items such as Bibles, crucifixes and Stars of David into the country and is threatening to confiscate them on sight, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

"A number of items are not allowed to be brought into the kingdom due to religious reasons and local regulations," declares the Web site of Saudi Arabian Airlines, the country's national carrier.

After informing would-be visitors that items such as narcotics, firearms and pornography may not be transported into the country, the Web site adds: "Items and articles belonging to religions other than Islam are also prohibited. These may include Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols such as the Star of David, and others."

Contacted by the Post, an employee of Saudi Arabian Airlines in New York, who would only give her name as Gladys, confirmed this rule was in force. "Yes, sir," she said, "that is what we have heard, that it is a problem to bring these things into Saudi Arabia, so you cannot do it."

An official at the Saudi Consulate in New York, who declined to give her name, told the Post that anyone bringing a Bible into the country or wearing a crucifix or Star of David around their neck would run into trouble with Saudi authorities.

"You are not allowed to bring that stuff into the kingdom," the consular official said. "If you do, they will take it away," she warned, adding, "If it is really important to you, then you can try to bring it and just see what happens, but I don't recommend that you do so."

Asked to explain the policy, the official said, "Every country has rules about what can or cannot enter."

Over the summer, the Saudi government-run Supreme Commission for Tourism announced a number of steps, such as issuing group visas to foreigners through tour operators and granting longer entry visas, in the hopes of boosting the number of foreign tourists to 1.5 million annually by 2020.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1186557401034&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


I'm not going to remove the crucifix I wear around my neck just so I can visit some intolerant, backwards country.


I agree. With muslims, they always have to have it their way! They want to do whatever they want when they come to your country but they don't budge when you go to theirs.

In Dubai, we have a Buddha Bar (like in paris, nyc, vegas, etc.) with a huge Buddha statue front of the bar. Imagine a Mohammad Bar!! There would be beheadings over that!

Wow, I have never been quite so impressed with your inability to get it!

LOL.

I assure you sir, that I "get" that the impetus of the thread is about the Saudi Arabian government's bigotry, and their total lack of concern for other people's religious freedoms.

I just wanted to poke fun at the fact that people in this country would get all worked up over the occurence -- happening, as it is, in a country thousands of miles away, a country which they have no say over the workings of, a country whose primary religion they themselves constantly disparage and revile-- of the Saudis not allowing people to enter their country with their various religious icons and totems.

So what? We find out that the Saudis are just as religiously bigoted as certain members of the fundamentalist religious faction in this country.

As if that is a surprise to anyone.

...religiously bigoted as certain members of the fundamentalist religious faction in this country.
You could start a thread on that, then. Maybe about how the bigots at the drivers liscence office make women unveil to take their picture for an identification card.