The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of steps taken by Saudi Arabia to revise textbooks, curricula, and teaching methods to remove content disparaging religions other than Islam.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Freedom of religion or belief is severely restricted in Saudi Arabia. Public expression of any religion other than Islam is forbidden, non-Muslims are not permitted to worship openly or establish places of worship in Saudi Arabia although private worship is permitted.

We are aware that the Saudi Arabian authorities have introduced programmes focussed on removing material from text books that might be considered hateful or inciteful. We continue to support dialogue and opportunities for reform.