Christian evangelist threatened with death penalty in Saudi Arabia
Country: SAUDI ARABIA, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
An Eritrean Christian has been threatened with the death penalty in Saudi Arabia after being arrested for sharing his faith with Muslims.
Mussie Eyob says he is ready to die
for his faith in Christ
Mussie Eyob was detained by the authorities at a mosque in Saudi's second largest city, Jeddah, on 12 February. He had gone there to meet and talk with local Muslims after speaking about Christianity at the Eritrean Embassy for three days.
Eyob was arrested for preaching to Muslims, and has been threatened with the death penalty for his alleged offence. He had felt compelled to share his faith with them, despite the danger.
Eyob was transferred to the notorious high-security Briman Prison. His family are very concerned for his welfare there. They visited Eyob on 20 March and found that he had lost weight, though he was in relatively good spirits.
Barnabas Fund has been able to speak to Eyob on the phone. He said:
May the purpose of God be done in my life... I'm trusting in the grace of God, which is enabling me to stand bold in a very traumatic situation.
He asked for our prayers. A source that is closely following his case said, "He is ready to die for his belief [in Christ]".
Saudi Arabia is a strictly Islamic country that follows an extreme and puritanical version of Islam, Wahhabism. The country states that the Quran is its constitution and that all its laws and regulations are promulgated in line with sharia, which prescribes the death penalty for converts from Islam. Consequently most converts keep their faith secret.
All forms of public religious activities other than those consistent with the government's own interpretation of Sunni Islam are banned. The government has stated that expatriate Christians, of whom there are many in Saudi Arabia, are free to worship in private. But the religious police (mutawaah) sometimes raid private worship services.
The country has one of the highest rates of executions in the world. In late 2009, Amnesty International denounced the presence of at least 141 people on death row in Saudi Arabia, including 104 foreign nationals.