Freedom and Respect for the Rights of the Tyrannized Ismailis of Najran – Saudi Arabia

In two earlier articles, entitled ‘Freedom for Tyrannized Najran, Yemenite Territory Under Illegal Saudi Control’, and ‘Stop the Saudi Tyranny in Yemenite Najran! Call for a UN-organized Referendum in Najran’, I stressed the troubles of the tyrannized Yemenites of Najran, who have been forced by the colonial plans of England to be incorporated within the homonymous province of Saudi Arabia.

The Shia Yemenite Najranis have been terribly tyrannized and their persecution and oppression has been carried out by the English colonialism’s best children, the ominous Sunni Wahhabites who are the focus of all sorts of terrorism and evildoing necessary for the eschatological and pseudo-messianic plans of the Apostate Freemasonic Lodge that controls the English and the French political, military and financial establishments.

Recently, the leading NGO Human Rights Watch focused on the issue and published a devastating report that provides with a detailed record of Human Rights violations practiced by the Sunni Wahhabite authorities of Saudi Arabia – the undeservedly and shamelessly venerated ‘allies’ in the War against Terrorism –, which definitely underscores the political need for immediate secession of Najran from Saudi Arabia and reunification with Yemen.

In the aforementioned articles, I published the first parts (Summary and Recommendations, the Background) of the decisive Report, which is entitled "The Ismailis of Najran - Second-class Saudi Citizens". In this article, I republish the Report’s third chapter, Relevant International Standards, and the first part of the fourth chapter, The Clash and Crackdown of April 2000. In forthcoming articles, I will complete the republication of the entire report that should be taken into consideration in any case of decision-making with respect to the wider area of the Middle East.

Longer Najran remains annexed in Saudi Arabia, greater the danger of a Shia revolt against Saudi Arabia is. Najran must be given the possibility to select the country they want to belong to by means of a UN-organized and monitored referendum.

The Ismailis of Najran - Second-class Saudi Citizens

http://hrw.org/reports/2008/saudiarabia0908/index.htm

Relevant International Standards

http://hrw.org/reports/2008/saudiarabia0908/3.htm#_Toc208817520

International law prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion and protects the rights of religious and other minorities. The most important international human rights treaties that spell out the meaning and extent of these prohibitions and protections include the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD),20 the Convention against Discrimination in Education,21 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).22 In addition, the United Nations has passed declarations that articulate human rights standards and best practices in matters of discrimination. These are the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981),23 the UNGA Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities (1993),24 and the UNESCO Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice (1978).25

Saudi Arabia acceded to the ICERD on October 23, 1997, the Convention against Discrimination in Education on August 17, 1973, and the CRC on February 25, 1996. It has submitted two reports to the UN Committee overseeing the ICERD, a combined initial and second report in August 2001 and the third report in February 2003. The first report, submitted four months after the Holiday Inn events in Najran, made no mention of the Ismaili minority. When the UN Committee responded to the report, it expressed concern "about reports that persons of some racial or ethnic origins are unable to manifest their religious beliefs."26

The Ismailis of Najran consider themselves to be a religiously and ethnically distinct group in the kingdom. Their religious homogeneity in particular marks them as a group in a way that the followers of the Maliki religious school of thought in neighboring ‘Asir province or the Hijaz, for example, have not claimed. Ismaili elders identify themselves in petitions to Saudi authorities by their tribe and geographical origin, and also sometimes by religious identification. A January 2008 petition, for instance, states that "Najran is known for its special characteristics of its religious faith and the sensitivity of its followers to their treatment as a minority in their original homeland."27 Saudi government officials occasionally refer to the people of Najran as Ismailis; Prince Mish’al referred to then as such in remarking in 2005 "the source of religious authority (marja’iyya) of our brothers the Ismailis is in Najran, and the source of religious authority of our brothers the Zaidis is in Najran."28 Ismailis as well as Saudi officials more frequently use religiously non-specific terms like "people of Najran" in their official or public discourse. This should be seen in the context of an intolerant Wahhabi ideology that brooks no differences between Islam as defined by the thought of Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab, and other interpretations and practices of Islam.29 One Ismaili told Human Rights Watch, "There is no room to describe yourself as Ismaili, because we don’t really exist for them [the Wahhabis]."30

The ICERD defines racial discrimination as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.31

The 1978 UNESCO declaration goes further in declaring "[a]ny distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, ethnic or national origin or religious intolerance motivated by racist considerations" to be incompatible with human rights.32 The Convention against Discrimination in Education, in article 1, also includes religious factors among prohibited discrimination. The UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief declares that "discrimination between human beings on the grounds of religion or belief constitutes an affront to human dignity."33

The prohibition against discrimination applies to the enjoyment of all fundamental rights, including the rights to development, work, and access to justice. States are bound to guarantee equal access for everyone to "[e]conomic, social and cultural rights, in particular: (i) The rights to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work, to protection against unemployment, to equal pay for equal work, [and] to just and favourable remuneration."34

Equally, law enforcement, and judicial officials must not discriminate between persons on the basis of their ethnic origin, and the state is bound to guarantee

(a) The right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice;

(b) The right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any individual group or institution.35

The prohibition against racist laws, policies, and acts obliges states to take preventive and remedial action against racism. According to the UNGA’s 1993 declaration, states are obliged to protect minorities, such as the Ismailis, by taking "measures to create favourable conditions to enable persons belonging to minorities to express their characteristics and to develop their culture, language, religion, traditions and customs."36

The 1993 declaration also says that states must protect the identity of minorities "within their respective territories" by encouraging "conditions for the promotion of that identity" and measures allowing minority members to "participate fully in the economic progress and development in their country."37 The Convention on the Rights of the Child specifically requires the education of a child to be directed to the "development of … his or her own cultural identity, language and values" and gives a child of a religious minority the right "to enjoy his or her own culture, [and] to profess and practise his or her own religion.38 The 1981 UNGA declaration states that, in education, a child "shall not be compelled to receive teaching on religion or belief against the wishes of his parents."39

In the 1981 UNGA declaration, the "freedom to have a religion … and freedom … to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching" is protected, and "coercion which would impair [t]his freedom" is prohibited.40 More specifically, assembly for worship, observance of religious holidays, maintaining and erecting buildings for worship, acquiring items for use in religious rituals, religious teaching and appointment of religious leaders, fundraising for religion, and communication with coreligionists are activities that fall within the protection of freedom of religion.41

The state’s obligations go beyond not preventing religious minorities from exercising their rights. The ICERD is clear that states must not "undertake[] to sponsor, defend or support racial discrimination by any persons or organizations," and states must "condemn all propaganda and all organizations which are based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons of one colour or one ethnic origin."42 The UNGA’s States must especially "not permit public authorities or public institutions, national or local, to promote or incite racial discrimination," and prosecute any individual who does so.

Furthermore, states should "encourage, where appropriate, integrationist multiracial organizations and movements," and "establish and maintain appropriate charitable or humanitarian institutions."43

International law not only protects the identity of minorities and prohibits discrimination but guarantees the rights of minorities to actively participate in the public and cultural life of society, including by "maintain[ing] their own associations.44 Minorities have "the right to participate effectively in decisions on the national and, where appropriate, regional level concerning the minority."45

Notes

20 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), adopted December 21, 1965, G.A. Res. 2106 (XX), annex, 20 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 14) at 47, U.N. Doc. A/6014 (1966), 660 U.N.T.S. 195, entered into force January 4, 1969.

21 Convention against Discrimination in Education, 429 U.N.T.S. 93, entered into force May 22, 1962.

22 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted November 20, 1989, G.A. Res. 44/25, annex, 44 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 167, U.N. Doc. A/44/49 (1989), entered into force September 2, 1990.

23 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, G.A. res. 36/55, 36 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 51) at 171, U.N. Doc. A/36/684 (1981).

24 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities, G.A. res. 47/135, annex, 47 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 210, U.N. Doc. A/47/49 (1993).

25 Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice, E/CN.4/Sub.2/1982/2/Add.1, annex V (1982). Adopted and proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at its twentieth session, on 27 November 1978.

26 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Sixty-second session, 3-21 March 2003, Concluding observations, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties: Saudi Arabia, CERD/C/62/CO/8, June 2, 2003.

27 Ismaili petition to Governor Prince Mish’al, January 2008, p. 6.

28 "Interview with Prince Mish’al bin Sa’ud," Al-Hayat, January 4, 2005 (23/11/1425).

29 Natana DeLong-Bas, Wahhabi Islam. From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad (New York: Oxford University Press: 2004), pp. 55-57 and 61-63.

30 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with an Ismaili, IN2, Najran, February 27, 2008.

31 ICERD, art. 1.

32 Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice, art. 3.

33 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, art. 3.

34 ICERD, art. 5.

35 Ibid.

36 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities, art. 4.

37 Ibid., arts. 1 and 5.

38 CRC, arts. 29 and 30.

39 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, art. 5.2..

40 Ibid., art. 1.

41 Ibid., art. 6.

42 CERD, arts. 2 and 4.

43 Ibid., art. 2; and Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, art. 6..

44 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities, art. 2.

45 Ibid.

The Clash and Crackdown of April 2000

http://hrw.org/reports/2008/saudiarabia0908/4.htm#_Toc208817521

The security agencies protect [the Ismailis] … We reinforce the security patrols so that they practice their beliefs in peace … They are not second- or third-class citizens, but first class.

—Governor of Najran Prince Mish’al bin Sa’ud, April 200546

Background: The Ministry of Interior Plan to Shut Ismaili Mosques

In early 2000, in a clear provocation to the Ismaili community and in violation of their right to religious freedom, Saudi authorities devised and carried out a detailed plan to shut down Ismaili mosques and arrest worshippers on the day that Ismailis celebrate the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr.47

Sunni religious practice relies on the physical sighting of the new moon to mark the start of Eid, so precise dates cannot be predicted with certainty and depend on the locale where the moon sighting takes place. In Ismai’li practice, however, Eid is calculated through a fixed calendar. If there is a difference in the day of Eid between Ismailis and Wahhabi Sunnis, the Ismaili day almost always comes earlier. Saudi Arabia allows only the Sunni method of determining the Eid date. In 2000, Sunni Muslims expected to see the new moon, and thus celebrate Eid, on January 4 at the earliest. Ismaili Eid fell on January 3.

Official documents show that six weeks earlier, on November 22, 1999 (13/8/1420), Minister of Interior Prince Nayef ordered police to close Ismaili mosques on January 3, 2000, and to "place guards and to arrest any trespasser and to charge him."48 Four days before Ismaili Eid celebrations the Interior Ministry issued a detailed and confidential security plan (a copy of which Human Rights Watch has obtained) ordering the closure of 20 mosques in Najran city, naming the police officials responsible for closing each mosque, and specifying the number of police cars on standby. The plan did not state how to close mosques or how to distinguish worshipers coming for daily prayers from those coming to celebrate Eid. The plan also ordered police to close all Ismaili mosques outside Najran city, with the help of "criminal security" officers provided with "tools from the equipment and provisions branch" who would "intensify [their] investigations," and five other officials who "possess weapons and explosives." All members of the joint forces were to be at their posts by 5:30 a.m. on the morning of the Ismaili Eid, and the "criminal forensics" department was ordered to provide "experts in crime photography."49

Ismailis were outraged at this violation of their freedom to worship, but the closures had been anticipated based on past experience, and spiritual leaders had called on Ismails to stay at home, which most heeded.50 A handful of worshipers who went to the mosques on that day were arrested.51

Saudi Arabia has no written penal code specifying what actions constitute criminal offenses. The authorities have sometimes treated as a crime the celebration of non-Muslim religious holidays, as well as Muslim holidays that Wahhabis consider heretical, arresting participants. At other times, there has been little or no official interference, such as during recent public celebrations of Ashura by Shia in Qatif in the Eastern Province. Ismailis’ Eid celebrations are virtually identical to Sunnis’. Ismailis visit family and friends, share communal meals and exchange gifts, and participate in communal prayers in mosques.

Notes

46 "Interview with Prince Mish’al bin Sa’ud," Al-Hayat, April 1, 2005 (23/11/1425).

47 On Eid al-Fitr, Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting and asceticism.

48 Director of the Najran Region’s Police Gen. Dukhail Allah bin Abdullah al-Azwari, "Extremely Secret and Urgent, Not to Be Circulated. Detailed Security Plan Dated 26/9/1420," Najran Region Police Directorate, Public Security, Ministry of Interior, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Copy on file with Human Rights Watch.

49 Ibid.

50 Human Rights Watch interview with an Ismaili, IN3, Najran, December 13, 2006.

51 Mas’ud Al Haidar and Shaikh Amad Al Sa’b, "Justice is the Foundation of Rule." letter to King Abdullah, undated, after August 2005, p. 3.

Note
Picture: Najran, Yemen and Saudi Arabia