Washington, USA - Saudi Arabia has agreed to protect the rights of non-Muslims, revise textbooks that teach religious intolerance and add teeth to a recently created Human Rights Commission after months of private negotiations with the United States over religious freedom, the State Department said Wednesday.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is citing these and other Saudi initiatives, outlined in a new agreement, as grounds for extending a waiver that will avert U.S. sanctions on a nation that is often the leading supplier of oil to the U.S. The Saudis provide about one-fifth of all oil consumed in the U.S., and the U.S. is Saudi Arabia's leading trade partner.
"What you see is part of a broader initiative of the Saudi government to combat extremism," said John Hanford, U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom.
The State Department is crediting King Abdullah, who ascended to the throne last summer after serving for years as crown prince, for "sincerity" in undertaking religious reforms.
Earlier this year, the Washington-based Center for Religious Freedom reported that Saudi textbooks still teach religious intolerance, with 1st graders learning that "every religion other than Islam is false" and teachers instructed to "give examples of false religions, like Judaism, Christianity, paganism, etc."
The U.S. has cited Saudi Arabia as a "country of particular concern" since September 2004 under the International Religious Freedom Act. That could subject the Saudis to economic sanctions, but Rice has waived enforcement since last fall, enabling diplomats to seek commitments from the Saudis.
The waiver for Saudi Arabia is the only time Washington has eschewed punishing a blacklisted country under a 1998 law targeting violators of religious rights.
Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) urged the secretary earlier this year to keep Saudi Arabia on the list of religiously intolerant nations. The State Department delivered a report on the new agreement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.
The department says the Saudis have agreed during the next one to two years to revise textbooks and remove "intolerant references that disparage" non-Muslims or promote hatred toward other religious groups.
The Saudis have also committed to train teachers in the principles of religious tolerance, guarantee the rights of non-Muslims to assemble in homes for worship and give greater authority to a Saudi Human Rights Commission created last year.
"We feel that these are sincere" agreements, Hanford said. "Obviously the key is implementation. Time will tell. ... We have been encouraged to find . . . that they have understood our concerns, have understood in many cases that the language is unacceptable."
The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington said no one was available to comment.