27 Christians who were worshipping together at a home in Saudi Arabia were arrested last week. Among the arrested were men, women, and children. This incident occurred as a result of one nearby resident who reported that they were partaking in "suspicious behavior.'
Local news source Saudi Gazette said that members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) "raided the house in the city's Aziziyah neighborhood" and they "seized copies of the Bible and various musical instruments."
Patrick Poole from P.J. Media pointed out, "The raid is another part of an ongoing harassment campaign directed at Christians at the exact same time that the Saudi Kingdom is making a major "interfaith outreach' push internationally."
Representative Frank Wolf expressed his hopes that the U.S. would "speak up" about these arrests. He told Fox News that "the anti-Christian raid was not surprising given that the Saudi regime "did not want our soldiers to wear our crosses during the Desert Storm' operation in 1991 to stop Iraqi jingoism."
Fox also attempted to interview the Saudi embassy located in the U.S., but the representative from the embassy said that "Mr. Jubeir has nothing [to say on the arrests]."
Saudi Arabia's government follows the Sunni Islam tenets, and severely persecutes all other religions. Practice of any religion other than Islam in public spaces is strictly forbidden.
In 2004 and 2011, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom took special note of Saudi Arabia, as the country does not acknowledge nor protect any religious freedom in its constitution.
