As recent news headlines have indicated, a new king – and new custodian of Islam’s most sacred sites – has taken the throne in Saudi Arabia.
Note: A 90-day period of worldwide prayer for Saudi
Arabs currently is underway and set to continue through the month of
October. As part of the emphasis, the Southern Baptist International
Mission Board recently released the following article and list of
prayer requests. The prayer emphasis comes at a time of transition for
Saudi Arabia, which is undergoing a change in leadership.
As recent news headlines have indicated, a new
king – and new custodian of Islam’s most sacred sites – has taken the
throne in Saudi Arabia.
The ailing King Fahd inherited the desert kingdom
his father founded and saw it become the world’s biggest and richest
oil producer. When Fahd died Aug. 1. Crown Prince Abdullah officially
became the absolute monarch of more than 25 million people in Saudi
Arabia. Abdullah had been de facto ruler since his elder brother Fahd
began suffering debilitating strokes a decade ago.
Abdullah recently visited the Texas ranch of
President George Bush, who calls him a friend and ally against global
terror. The new king styles himself as a moderate and a reformer. But
he stands between powerful and opposing pressures inside and outside
his kingdom – internal threats from radical Islamist forces and
international demands that he democratize Saudi society and wipe out
the brand of extremism that produced Osama bin Laden.
He allowed local elections (for male voters only)
earlier this year and has sponsored some educational reforms. But do
not expect major change any time soon, advised Jess Martin (not his
real name), a Christian who closely observes events in the kingdom.
Major change will be slow in coming because of
tradition, a culture that rewards conformity and consensus – and
exclusive Islamic rule, Martin explains. Indeed, any public religious
expression other than Islam is forbidden and punished, even among
foreign workers.
Expatriate workers from Asian nations like the
Philippines and Bangladesh who dare to worship Christ in home groups
usually receive harsh treatment – including arrest and imprisonment –
than Westerners. Any Saudi Arab who embraces a faith other than Islam
will face persecution and possibly death.
In the economic arena, whole industries languish
because of over-dependence on oil wealth and “a cultural predisposition
to keep people out,” Martin said.
“In Saudi Arabia, they build compounds for
foreigners – not to keep the Saudis outside but to keep foreign vices
inside,” he explained. “They want people to come (from abroad), but
they don’t want them to negatively influence society. That’s partly why
the Saudis have been so unaffected by Christianity.”
A rich, essentially-closed society built through
four generations on the foundation of age-old customs will not change
in a few years, Martin stressed. “You’re talking a generation,
minimum,” he predicted. “You see money taking great precedence in Saudi
Arabia – having money, getting more money. Having a place of honor. A
lot of the current violence is about power. Who will control?”
The quest for power and control drives Osama bin
Laden and many violent Islamists much more than religious zealotry,
Martin said. “Anybody who says bin Laden is a ‘puritan’ in his faith is
a liar. He is about power.”
Indeed, that is the real reason he seeks to “purify”
the Middle East by overthrowing the Saudi royal family and other
regimes in the region, Martin said.
The extremists pose very real dangers inside Saudi Arabia, but they remain a minority, he noted.
“Militancy is not where the average Saudi sits,”
Martin observed. “The average Saudi wants many of the same things the
average American does. He wants his kids to do well in school. He wants
to have a certain standard of living. He wants a good job.”
But the average Saudi also knows – deep down – that
he is spiritually lost, Martin maintained. “They don’t need democracy;
they need an encounter with the living God,” he stressed. “When you go
inside a Saudi’s house, and you sit and talk to him, you’ll see his
heart and it is just as sinful as everyone else’s – and he knows it.
“The challenge for us is – what are we going to do
about it? What are we going to do in obedience to God to take Christ to
the people called Saudi Arabs?”
Wherever he goes in the world, Martin said he
challenges Christians to go to Saudi Arabia – and to quietly share
their faith when they get there. Asians keep going by the planeload
because they need the jobs offered by the Saudis. But the number of
American and European expatriate workers has dwindled since terrorist
threats and attacks against foreigners have increased.
“In John 15, Jesus said, ‘If they persecuted me,
they will persecute you also,’” Martin said. “I look at people who do
bungee jumping and say that’s crazy. Yet, the Holy Spirit has set us
free in Christ. We can take risks for his sake, knowing he will carry
us through to the end.”
But Martin also reminded persons that they do not
have to go to Saudi Arabia to share Jesus with a Saudi Arab. Just walk
down the street, drive across town or visit a university campus, he
said.
“They’re in Houston, … Orlando, … Los Angeles,”
Martin said. “Will we take a look at them and say, ‘They’re Muslim,’
and run away or will we take the time to befriend them, embrace them as
creations of God needing redemption and offer the only hope they have –
Christ?
“We’ve got to go beyond our church pews,” Martin
emphasized. “This doesn’t just go for Saudi Arabs. We’ve got to engage
all Muslims. You don’t have to go far. You just have to look at who’s
around you.” (BP)
(For details on Saudi Arabs, visit www.lovesaudis.com)