The UK’s Guardian newspaper offers this commentary on the way Saudi Shi’ites, particularly the Ismailis in Najran, still face untoward discrimination at the hands of the government and the Sunni majority. Despite efforts by King Abdullah to acknowledge them as part of Saudi Islam, the Ismailis face continuing discrimination in employment, government benefits, education, in the courts, and in the insults they receive such as being called ‘infidels’ or ‘polytheists’.

UPDATE: Here’s a link to the Human Rights Watch report on the Ismailis of Najran.

Discrimination against Muslims in Saudi Arabia
Though tentative steps towards tolerance have been made,
the plight of Saudi Ismailis shows how far the country has to go
Christopher Wilcke

The prominence of Saudis among the September 11 2001 plotters and in the al-Qaida leadership has put Saudi Arabia under intense international scrutiny in recent years. In response, the kingdom has reined in Islamist extremists and urged its people to desist from joining the insurgency in Iraq.

Internationally, Saudi Arabia has started to advocate for greater religious tolerance. Last July, King Abdullah launched an interfaith conference in Madrid, inviting representatives not only of various Christian denominations but also Jewish and Shinto religious leaders.

At home, Crown Prince (now King) Abdullah launched a national dialogue in 2003, in which carefully selected members of the Saudi elite voiced opposing opinions on delicate matters, including religious extremism. In the same year a leading Saudi cleric from the Sunni establishment, Salman al-Awda, was photographed together with Hasan al-Saffar, a prominent cleric from Saudi Arabia’s oppressed Shia minority.

All this is welcome in a country which, backed by petro-wealth, aspires to leadership of the Muslim world, is guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites, and each year hosts the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which brings together Muslims of all branches and sects of Islam.

However, as a new report by Human Rights Watch reveals, Saudi Arabia’s treatment of one of its own Muslim religious minorities, the Ismailis, still leaves much to be desired. The report provides evidence of Saudi government discrimination against Ismailis in employment, education, religious practice, and in the justice system.
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