According to the entry on Saudi Arabia in Country Reports 1998: "Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy. Public apostasy is a crime under Shari'a law and punishable by death" (1999). This was corroborated by information supplied by the Canadian mission in Abu Dhabi, transmitted via the Refugee Branch Asylum Division of Citizenship and Immigration Canada:

The punishment for apostasy (riddah) is well known in Islamic Sharee'ah. The Saudi government is one of the few countries in the Islamic world that fully implements the full Sharee'ah law. This includes the punishment for apostasy.

The one who leaves Islam will be asked to repent by the Sharee'ah judge in an Islamic country; if he does not repent and come back to the true religion, he will be killed as an apostate. (23 Feb. 1999)

In testimony before the United States Immigration and Claims Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Jim Robb of the Institute on Religion and Democracy stated that Christian converts in Saudi Arabia were subject to imprisonment and execution (Federal News Service 24 Mar. 1998). United States Senator Don Nickles, in a Christian Science Monitor article on the persecution of Christians, wrote that "By law, Saudi Christian converts are beheaded." (12 May 1998). However, neither the testimony nor the article provides specific examples of this practice being carried out.

According to a Middle East specialist with the Centre for Religious Freedom, Freedom House, there are very few Saudi Christian converts, owing to the combined weight of the penalty for apostasy and the ban on proselytizing (1 Mar. 1999). The specialist added that any Saudi converts would retain their Islamic names and continue their existence in the community, rather than go public with their conversion for fear of the penalties for apostasy.

According to information supplied by the Canadian mission in Abu Dhabi: "The conditions for a non-Muslim woman to marry a Muslim man are that she should be of the People of the Book (Jewish or Christian) and that she should be chaste." (23 Feb. 1999).

According to the Mideast Mirror, the Saudi government introduced a law in January 1998 "designed to restrict marriages between Saudis and foreigners other than GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] nationals" (14 Jan. 1998). The law requires that all other foreigners wishing to marry Saudi citizens must undergo health checks for hereditary and infectious diseases before approval of the marriage would be granted (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Response.

Canadian mission in Abu Dhabi. 23 February 1999. Letter sent to the Research Directorate via the Refugee Branch Asylum Division, Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Centre for Religious Freedom, Freedom House, Washington, DC. 1 March 1999. Telephone interview with Middle East Specialist.

Christian Science Monitor [Boston]. 12 May 1998. Senator Don Nickles. "Religious Freedom - The Often Forgotten Right." (NEXIS)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. 1999. Washington, DC: US Department of State. [Internet] http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1998_hrp_report [Accessed 1 Mar. 1999]

Federal News Service. 24 March 1998. "Prepared Testimony by Jim Robb Before the House Judicary Committee Immigration and Claims Subcommittee." (NEXIS)

Mideast Mirror. 14 January 1998. "Preserving the Purity of the Gulf Race." (NEXIS)

Resource Centre Amnesty International file on Saudi Arabia. 1997-1999.

Resource Centre Country file on Saudi Arabia. 1997-1999.

United States Department of State. 22 July 1997. " United States Policies in Support of Religious Freedom: Focus on Christians."

One oral source did not provide information on the topic requested.

Electronic sources: Internet, IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, WNC.