By Raymond Ibrahim – Exclusive for Coptic Solidarity –
Saudi Arabian officials recently arrested 27 Christians last week—among them women and children—for the crime of conducting Christian prayers and being in possession of Bibles, reports Arab media.
The group of Christians, most if not all of whom were Lebanese nationals, were celebrating a Virgin Mary feast day when authorities stormed their residence and arrested them.
Authorities proceeded to strip them of their visas and deport them back to Lebanon. Ironically, this is a much better fate than that suffered by other Christians caught engaging in acts of Christianity in the Islamic kingdom, including torture and long jail sentences.
Back in 2012, after 35 Christian Ethiopians were arrested and abused in prison for almost a year, simply for holding a private house prayer, one of them said after being released: “They [Saudis] are full of hatred towards non-Muslims.”
As of this time, no Western language media has reported this most recent arrest and deportation of Christians privately celebrating their faith in the Arabian Peninsula where Islam was born.
