Monday, February 15, 2010

Palestinians Working In Israel Must Convert To Judaism?

No, of course not--but imagine the outcry if they did!
And Imagine the silence, when Saudi Arabia does:
Embrace Islam, Or Lose Your Job

February 12, 2010: Islamic terrorism comes in many different forms. Christian Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia are complaining that their employers are threatening to fire them if they do not convert to Islam.
It's against the law for a Moslem in Saudi Arabia to convert to another religion. The punishment is death, and anyone attempting to convert Moslems is subject to the death penalty. This sort of double standard, and use of coercion, is a big deal in the Philippines, although the government there, and in Saudi Arabia, try to play down this particular problem. There are about 200,000 Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia, and 600,000 throughout the Persian Gulf. The forced conversions are not widespread, yet. But several hundred are believed to have occurred, and the idea is catching on with employers who are conservative Moslems.
Read the whole thing.

Gee, and it seems that only yesterday that the Washington Post (barely containing its cynicism) announced the Saudi attempt to promote religious understanding--back in 2008:

Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich Islamic kingdom that forbids the public practice of other religious faiths, will preside Wednesday over a two-day U.N. conference on religious tolerance that will draw more than a dozen world leaders, including President Bush, Israeli President Shimon Peres and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The event is part of a personal initiative by Saudi King Abdullah to promote an interfaith dialogue among the world's major religions. The Saudi leader agreed for the first time to dine in the same room with the Israeli president at a private, pre-conference banquet Tuesday hosted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. But Ban hinted that the two leaders -- whose governments do not have diplomatic relations -- were not seated at the same table.
Not that anyone really expects an outcry, except perhaps in the Philippines. Even then, there will be no righteous indignation from the UN or anywhere else.

That's just the way it is.

[hat tip: Instapundit]

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I didn't know that. Jeez, Saudi Arabia... But it's funny how every American government remain silent on those issues, while at the same time it criticizes countries like Iran or Syria...