Senator Barack Obama Calls on Rice to Condemn Ruling Against Saudi Journalists, Support Human Rights

April 7, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) sent the following letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, calling on her to condemn a recent ruling by a prominent Saudi cleric against two Saudi journalists for reporting what he considered heretical articles.

Barack Obama mural, Brooklyn: Photo by Erica (CC)

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According to recent reports, Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak issued a fatwa last month stating that two journalists should be put to death if they did not retract their articles. Last week, over 100 Arab rights groups also condemned the fatwa.

In the letter, Obama also called on Rice to send a strong message to the Saudi government that the United States remains deeply concerned about human rights abuses and the influence of radical Islamic activism on its judiciary.

In November 2007, Senator Obama wrote to Secretary Rice calling on her to condemn the unjust sentence of a Saudi gang rape victim, and asked her to include this case in the Department's 2007 report on human rights. The Department subsequently included the case into the report.

The text of the letter is below:

Dear Secretary Rice:

I have corresponded with you in the past to voice my deep concern about human rights issues in Saudi Arabia. I am writing once again to direct your attention to a recent clerical ruling against two Saudi journalists, and to urge the Department of State to condemn this and other troubling instances of radical Islamic incitement throughout the region.

According to news reports, a prominent Saudi cleric issued a fatwa last month stating that two journalists should be put to death if they did not retract what he considered heretical articles they had published earlier in the year. Reportedly, their articles brought into question the extremist view that Christians and Jews should be considered non-believers.

It is incumbent upon the United States to send a strong message to the Saudi government that we are concerned about human rights and the influence of radical Islamic activism on its judiciary. I urge your Department to press Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies to stand resolutely against hard-line clerics, and to be a strong voice for the human rights of the Saudi people.

I thank you in advance for your attention to this critical matter.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

United States Senator

Source: Senator Barack Obama