§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
In the context of their response to the 1st Report of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on the Annual Report on Human Rights of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Cm 4687), whether they consider that non-Muslim religious groups in Saudi Arabia have adequate and reasonable facilities for worship and church life; and, if not, what they propose to do to improve the situation. [HL2198]
Baroness Scotland or AsthalIslam is the official religion of Saudi Arabia and the overt practices of other faiths is not officially permitted. There are no public places of worship for non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia. But Prince Sultan, Second Deputy Prime Minister, has publicly said that "Believers in God are free to practise their religious rights in their homes". In practice, therefore, discreet non-Muslim worship by foreigners is allowed in private.