Dozens of Christians deported from Saudi Arabia for 'un-Islamic prayer'

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have deported 27 Lebanese Maronite Christians, including women and children, for participating in an "un-Islamic" prayer and for possessing the Gospel.

The Christians were celebrating the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady when the religious police raided their home in Aziziyah. The Christians argued that their prayers did not insult Islam because the Blessed Virgin Mary is also highly regarded in the Quran.

Saudi Arabia allows non-Muslims to practice their religions in private, but the Christian advocacy group Open Doors International (ODI) reported that Christian practice is still heavily restricted even when done in private.

"Although the government formally recognizes the right of non-Muslims to worship in private, the religious police often do not respect this right," ODI noted, according to World Watch Monitor.

Privately held Christian services are still heavily restricted by gender segregation. Men and women who are not closely related are not allowed to worship together in the same room.

"Christians who engage in such activities risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation, and sometimes torture," ODI added.

Last April, it was reported that Saudi Arabia has limited the powers of the religious police or "Haia." The religious police are no longer allowed to detain anyone and they must report the offenders to the police or drug-squad officers.

Henriette Kats, a researcher at ODI's World Watch Unit, is not convinced that the new rule will have any effect on the state of religious freedom in the country.

"The religious police could, for example, inform the regular police officers if they discover a meeting of Christian migrants, and the result would be the same. In that case, this decision is only cosmetic," said Kats.

The Haia came under international scrutiny in 2015 when the agency was accused of "beating, whipping, detaining, and otherwise harassing individuals."

Open Doors has ranked Saudi Arabia as the 14th most dangerous country to be a Christian. Conversion from Islam is still forbidden and punishable by death. The advocacy group reported that the number of Christian converts from Islam is increasing despite the stringent laws.