Saudi Arabia has introduced a series of new laws which define atheists as terrorists, according to a report from Human Rights Watch. In a string of royal decrees and an overarching new piece of legislation to deal with terrorism generally, the Saudi King Abdullah has clamped down on all forms of political dissent and protests that could “harm public order”…. Article one of the new provisions defines terrorism as “calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based”.
Sure, this story is about Saudi Arabia, but I’m focusing on it for the simple reason that there are those in this country- some of them in Congress- who would gladly do the same thing. Despite the clear intent of the Founding Fathers, some of whom were quite familiar with religious tyranny, theocrats in this country would collapse the separation of Church and State to make the Bible the supreme law of the land.
Yep, those who don’t know history really ARE condemned to repeat it….
In the guise of fighting terrorism, King Abdullah has made it clear that he has no intention of creating a space for freedom, peaceful dissent or free thought. Not that Saudi Arabia has any sort of democratic tradition, of course; it’s always been a benevolent dictatorship of sorts (at least in the minds of the Saudi ruling class). If nothing else, the Kingdom serves as a laboratory for displaying the worst what can go wrong when Church and State merge and become indistinguishable.
Even worse and more reprehensible is the employing the “fighting terrorism” rubric as an excuse to crackdown on political dissent…and that’s what I fear could occur here in our own country. All an American need do is look at the USA PATRIOT Act to be reminded of what happens to liberty and freedom when government gets itself all fired up about fighting terrorism. Anyone who tries to board a plane these days knows the terrorists have already won. We live in fear because our media and our government tell us we must. That ship has long since sailed in Saudi Arabia, where government doesn’t have to worry about inconvenient things like free speech and expression, much less a free press.
I do get a chuckle out of the idea that I’d be considered a terrorist in Saudi Arabia…because anyone who knows me recognizes that I’m a threat only to myself. Apparently some would disagree on that account: I don’t have an Imaginary Friend, ergo I’m a threat to the established order. People may be killing one another over not having the “right” Imaginary Friend, but I, who prefer to exercise control over and responsibility for my own life and present a threat to no one, am considered a legitimate danger to decent, God-fearing folks.
And people wonder why I don’t believe in God….
