Saudi Arabian Airlines declares on its English-language Web site that the kingdom bans “Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols such as the Star of David.”
Until the Saudi government changes this detestable policy, I say its airline should be barred from flying into Western airports.
[….]
SAA, the state-owned national carrier and its portal to the world, offers a pressure point for change. To take advantage of this vulnerability, Western governments should demand that unless the Saudi government at least permits “that stuff” to come in, SAA faces exclusion from the 18 airports it presently services in Europe, North America and Japan.
Were those routes shut down, Riyadh would face a tough choice:
• Ignore this action. Allowing Western airlines to service Saudi Arabia without reciprocity would presumably be too great a humiliation for the monarchy to abide.
• Cut off the Western airlines in return. Cutting off the Western airlines would unacceptably isolate Saudis from major markets and premier destinations.
• Permit non-Wahhabi religious items. That would leave the Saudis with no choice but to accept the import of “Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols such as the Star of David.” Further, once these materials are allowed, other benefits would likely follow, such as permitting non-Islamic religious buildings and services in Saudi Arabia for the millions of non-Muslims resident there. Muslims who reject the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam would also eventually benefit from this loosening.
Such joint action would also send a long-overdue signal to the despots of Riyadh – that Westerners have thrown off their servile obeisance to their writ.
WHO WILL be first to act? Which national government or municipality will arise from the customary dhimmi posture and ban SAA (slogan: “We aim to please you”) from its runways, thereby compelling the kingdom to permit infidel religious items, monotheistic and polytheistic alike, into its territory?
Where are you Athens, Frankfurt, Geneva, Houston, London, Madrid, Málaga, Manchester, Milan, Munich, New York, Nice, Osaka, Paris, Prague, Rome, Vienna and Washington, DC?
If no government acts, what about a delegation of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and others boarding an SAA flight with much publicity, openly displaying their religious artifacts, daring the airline to confiscate them?
Or which public service law firm in those 11 countries will bring local human rights suits against SAA as an arm of the Saudi government?
This issue provides an opportunity for left and right to unite against radical Islam. Who will take the lead to confront Saudi discrimination, arrogance and repression?
Limewoody
Vi kommer ikke uden om at isolere den arabiske Verden, den er for udfarende og selvsikker.
Lad araberne selv tage sig af de fattige arabiske menneskemasser, det kan ikke være Vestens opgave.
Vi har ladet os presse af deres olie, men vi har midler til at erstatte den.
De mangler at blive mere “møre”.
Lad dem kvæles i deres egen overbefolkning.
falkeøje
Den amerikanske udenrigsminister, Dr. Henry Kissinger beretter, at da han var på mission til Saudi, var der en embedsmand, der lettere betuttet sagde til ham: “Mr. Secretary, we know that you are a Jew, but we’ll try to look at you as a human being.”
Hvortil Dr. K. replicerede: “I’m glad you’ll look at me as a human being – actually some of my best friends are human beings”. 😉