Dubai, United Arab Emirates — A US Congress-mandated group has called off a fact-finding mission to Saudi Arabia after officials in the kingdom ordered a Jewish rabbi to remove his yarmulke in public, highlighting the religious tensions still present in the wider Central Arab region. East.
Speaking to The Associated Press, Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom sought to distance his skullcap command from what he described as progress made in the kingdom under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in quietly allowing that different religions worship privately.
He also said Saudi Arabia could release four Uyghur Muslims jailed in the kingdom for asylum in the US because of the possible persecution they could face if they return to China.
However, displaying religious symbols other than Islamic symbols remains a crime, the kingdom carried out the largest-ever mass execution involving minority Shias for two years, and authorities continue to crack down on any perceived dissent against Prince Mohammed.
“The situation in Saudi Arabia is very complex,” said the Rev. Frederick Davie of New York City, vice chairman of the commission. “And not everyone is on board, and this could be an example of that.”
Officials in Saudi Arabia, as well as at the Saudi embassy in Washington, did not respond to questions from the AP about the yarmulke incident. An embassy message released online called it “unfortunate” and “a misunderstanding of internal protocols,” without elaborating.
The committee, accompanied by members of the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, had been attending meetings for about two days when they visited Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site mud-walled village in the Saudi capital, on March 5.
About a third of the way through the village, a Saudi official handed a phone to Cooper, whereupon an official told him to remove his yarmulke, a skullcap worn by some Jews and also called yarmulke in Yiddish.
“It’s a pretty stunning request, considering that we’re there at the forefront of international religious freedom and we’re preparing a report on Saudi Arabia,” said Cooper, who lives in Los Angeles.
“It’s like asking someone in Saudi Arabia to take off their headscarf. I didn’t take off my yarmulke fifty years ago in the Soviet Union – I was there for a month – I’m certainly not taking off my yarmulke for you.”
Cooper declined and the rest of the group agreed to cut their visit short because of the question. However, Davie noted that Cooper’s yarmulke had not been an issue during government meetings or while eating in public earlier in the trip. Some Jewish online influencers have made trips to the kingdom to publicize their visits.
The current Saudi sensitivity may partly reflect Israel’s heavy war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after the October 7 militant attack that killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. In the months since, Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians there and left the coastal enclave on the brink of famine, particularly infuriating Muslims across the Middle East as they commemorate the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
The Saudi royal family Al Saud, which bases part of its legitimacy on protecting Islam’s holiest sites in the kingdom, is especially feeling that pressure. Just before the war, the country had negotiated a US-brokered deal to potentially recognize Israel diplomatically in exchange for a series of concessions.
That deal now appears to have been largely abandoned. A chance meeting last month between Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat and Saudi Arabian Trade Minister Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasab at a World Trade Organization summit in Abu Dhabi provoked an angry response from Riyadh, which referred to Barakat as an ‘Israeli occupation official’. .”
“We are not naive. We live in the real world. I have eight grandchildren in Jerusalem, so I am literally in the game,” Cooper said. “Of course we would prefer that no people die in the Holy Land right now. … I think they would have canceled our meeting if they had decided they wanted to send a message to Washington and Jerusalem.”
In response to questions from the AP, the State Department said it had “raised our concerns to Saudi government authorities” about the order given to Cooper to remove his yarmulke.
“The United States fully supports freedom of religion or belief, including the right to express beliefs through religious dress,” the State Department said. “The United States continues to work with our Saudi counterparts on religious freedom issues and we hope that the net effect of this incident will encourage Saudi Arabia to take further steps in this area.”
The Arab Gulf states, especially the United Arab Emirates, have become more religiously accommodating. Both Bahrain and the UAE reached a diplomatic recognition agreement with Israel in 2020. The capital of Abu Dhabi is now home to a prominent synagogue, and a new Hindu temple has also recently opened.
But things have slowed down in Saudi Arabia, which was once dominated by ultra-conservative Wahhabi religious leaders before the rise of Prince Mohammed. A US report on religious freedom notes that there have recently been “large Christian worship services, discreet and regular, without substantial interference” in the kingdom.
Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and its main rival, Shiite power Iran, also reached a détente last year, easing tensions between the denominations. Davie said there was “cautious optimism” about the kingdom’s improving relations with its own Shiite minority population.
Meanwhile, Cooper also said the U.S. government is prepared to accept four Uighur Muslims imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and “immediately grant them refugee status in the United States.”
The State Department also acknowledged the case, saying it had “consulted with Saudi officials” on the matter, without discussing the rabbi’s claim that they could be released. It warned that Uyghur Muslims and other minority groups face possible “detention and torture” if they are returned to China.
“We also continue to urge the People’s Republic of China to end the genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” the Foreign Ministry said, using the abbreviation for People’s Republic of China, the country’s formal name.
The Chinese embassies in Riyadh and Washington did not respond to requests for comment on the Uyghur detainees.