(CP) – Christians traveling to Saudi Arabia are being warned not to publicly display their Bible while in the country or travel with more than one copy of the text, despite the kingdom’s recent openness to tourism. The Christian persecution watchdog group Barnabus Fund released a statement Monday warning individuals that having a Bible can still put them at risk of arrest.
“Christian visitors should be aware that displaying a Bible in public, or taking more than one Bible into the country, could place them at risk of arrest,” the group cautioned. “The new regulations for tourists state that a Bible may be brought into the country provided it is for personal use only. Bibles must not be displayed in public and anyone found bringing a large number of Bibles will face ‘severe penalties.’” READ MORE
Hmmmm…things must have taken a drastic change in that area. My wife and I traveled to Dubi on our way to Europe from the Philippines in 2008. When we were in the airport we openly prayed over our meal and openly read our Bibles while waiting for our flight to board surrounded by Burka wearing females and their husbands. No one paid us any attention that we know of and no one approached us to tell us to stop or threatened us.
Perhaps outside of the airport things may have been different in certain areas.