Saudi Arabia hosts rare visit of U.S. evangelical Christian figures

 

FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a meeting with U.N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the United Nations in New York on March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Levy/File Photo

 

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a rare meeting with American evangelical Christians on Thursday, as the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom seeks to open up more to the world and repair an image of religious intolerance.

 

The delegation was led by communications strategist Joel Rosenberg and included former U.S. congresswoman Michele Bachmann, according to an emailed statement by the group, as well as heads of American evangelical organisations, some with ties to Israel.

 

"It was a historic moment for the Saudi Crown Prince to openly welcome Evangelical Christian leaders to the Palace. We were encouraged by the candour of the two-hour conversation with him today," the statement said.

 

The delegation also met Saudi officials including Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Ambassador to Washington Prince Khalid bin Salman, and secretary-general of the Muslim World League Mohammed al-Issa.

 

A visit by such prominent non-Muslim leaders, who estimate they represent about 60 million people, is a rare act of religious openness for Saudi Arabia, which hosts the holiest sites in Islam and bans the practice of other religions.

 

Some of the figures' support for Israel, which the kingdom does not recognise, is also striking. For instance, Mike Evans, founder of the Jerusalem Prayer Team, describes himself on his website as "a devout American-Christian Zionist leader".

 

Saudi Arabia has maintained for years that normalizing relations with Israel hinges on its withdrawal from Arab lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war - territory Palestinians seek for a future state.

 

But increased tension between Tehran and Riyadh has fuelled speculation that shared interests may push Saudi Arabia and Israel to work together against what they regard as a common Iranian threat.

 

Prince Mohammed, who in recent years has loosened strict social rules and arrested Saudi clerics deemed extremists, said in April that Israelis are entitled to live peacefully on their own land. A month earlier, Saudi Arabia opened its air space for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel.

 

Several members of the delegation, which met with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in the United Arab Emirates earlier in the week, have also advised U.S. President Donald Trump on faith issues.

 

(Reporting by Stephen Kalin; Editing by James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-02

A look that has no doubt struck fear into many, goats.

The moment Saudi Arabia allows a Christian cathedral or church to be built in the Kingdom, I will happily become an Islamophile.....

45 minutes ago, blazes said:

The moment Saudi Arabia allows a Christian cathedral or church to be built in the Kingdom, I will happily become an Islamophile.....

Location is Al Jubail Saudi Arbia at GPS 26° 56′ 14.78″ N, 49° 39′ 23.3″  Granted it is a couple thousand years old.  Btw I have visited it few times. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubail_Church

 

Edited November 2, 20187 yr by khwaibah

Nice pics.   I assume this was built a day or two before Mohammed discovered religion in the desert?

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a rare meeting with American evangelical Christians

American evangelists - aka ardent Trump supporters.

MBS catering to Trumps political survival.

I don't know what surprises me most -- that he would invite them or that they would want to go.

 

1 hour ago, Credo said:

I don't know what surprises me most -- that he would invite them or that they would want to go.

 

Apart from the name of their beliefs, they are very similar. The christians have probably evolved a little more regarding the smiting of non believers.

3 hours ago, khwaibah said:

Location is Al Jubail Saudi Arbia at GPS 26° 56′ 14.78″ N, 49° 39′ 23.3″  Granted it is a couple thousand years old.  Btw I have visited it few times. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubail_Church

 

 

 

I guess you got there just in time:

"The Saudi government hides it from locals and even archaeologists as the Kingdom follows a strict version of Islamic law and prohibits all non-Islamic forms of worship. Recently, they have put a fence around the church to prevent potential tourists from seeing it. However, the fences have not stopped locals from coming in to vandalize and damage the building."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubail_Church

I guess they did not bring a Bible with them! ????

It's prohibited to have one in SA.

53 minutes ago, Cats4ever said:

Apart from the name of their beliefs, they are very similar. The christians have probably evolved a little more regarding the smiting of non believers.

2

"Apart from the name of their beliefs, they are very similar"

I absolutely agree with you! 100% 
Christians put bombs all over the world in the name of Christ
In September 2001 Christians terrorists in several planes hit a skyscraper in an Arab capital killing thousands of people.
Christians regularly kidnap Muslims for ransom. In default of payment, hostages are beheaded.
The Christian terrorist groups took hundreds of Yezidis women as sex slaves.
Christians have built thousands of churches in all Muslim countries, supposedly to be able to pray.
Christians wish the destruction of Israel as a non-Christian country
Christians have the right to have several wives and also take minor girls to get married.
 

7 hours ago, Tchooptip said:

"Apart from the name of their beliefs, they are very similar"

I absolutely agree with you! 100% 
Christians put bombs all over the world in the name of Christ
In September 2001 Christians terrorists in several planes hit a skyscraper in an Arab capital killing thousands of people.
Christians regularly kidnap Muslims for ransom. In default of payment, hostages are beheaded.
The Christian terrorist groups took hundreds of Yezidis women as sex slaves.
Christians have built thousands of churches in all Muslim countries, supposedly to be able to pray.
Christians wish the destruction of Israel as a non-Christian country
Christians have the right to have several wives and also take minor girls to get married.
 

And now, transpose this into the crusades !!!!

Christians terrorised non Christian populations over the world in the name of Christ!!!

Christians bombed and fomented proxy wars  all over the world, including the middle East . which in turn resulted in 9/11.

Christians kidnapped Atahualpa the Inca emperor ransom. In default of payment, the hostage would be killed. after a enormous huge ransom was payed Atahualpa was executed anyway !!!!....etc...

According to an FBI analysis of every U.S. terrorist attack between 1980 and 2005, 94% were carried out by someone who was not Muslim.

And yet, the number of anti-Muslim groups in the U.S. tripled between 2015 and 2016, as a seemingly ever-increasing segment of the population has convinced themselves that "terrorist" is synonymous with "Muslim."

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/23/mark-anthony-conditt-terrorism-christianity

Edited November 2, 20187 yr by off road pat

15 hours ago, off road pat said:

And now, transpose this into the crusades !!!!

Christians terrorised non Christian populations over the world in the name of Christ!!!

Christians bombed and fomented proxy wars  all over the world, including the middle East . which in turn resulted in 9/11.

Christians kidnapped Atahualpa the Inca emperor ransom. In default of payment, the hostage would be killed. after a enormous huge ransom was payed Atahualpa was executed anyway !!!!....etc...

According to an FBI analysis of every U.S. terrorist attack between 1980 and 2005, 94% were carried out by someone who was not Muslim.

And yet, the number of anti-Muslim groups in the U.S. tripled between 2015 and 2016, as a seemingly ever-increasing segment of the population has convinced themselves that "terrorist" is synonymous with "Muslim."

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/23/mark-anthony-conditt-terrorism-christianity

Answering about the crusade and Inca era for the nowadays problems is 100% offtopic not to say ridiculous, the rest is pure lie. I am sorry mod I hesitated answering If you wish to suppress our bickering answer up to you.  off road pat if you dare click on the link you will see the enormity of your answer the Muslims terrorist attacks started in 1970 all over the world, it is well documented with all the details where it took place the number of casualties and so on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Islamist_terrorist_attacks

bigots meet with bigots, religion doesnt matter!

Never trust or believe Saudis. this is just smoke and mirrors.

Nothing is changing and women are still oppressed and you get killed if you enter Mecca for example as a non muslim.

only change is, women can drive a car and that is it and of course, if their husbands allow them to do so.