No, I kid you not.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SAUDI ARABIA (hat tip Tom Gross)
Merry Christmas From Saudi Arabia
Holiday greetings from a regime that prohibits
Christians from worshipping publicly or wearing
crosses.
By David Keyes
The Wall Street Journal
If you want a good laugh, read the holiday card sent
out by Saudi Ambassador to the United States and
public relations genius Adel al-Jubeir. Citing a
Quranic verse, he writes "Behold, the angels said: 'O
Mary, God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him:
his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held
in honour in this world and hereafter and of (the
company of) those nearest to God.'"
Christmas greetings from an ambassador whose
government prohibits Christians from worshiping
publicly, building churches, wearing crosses or
importing Bibles. Invoking the names of Mary and Jesus
while representing a government that this year
beheaded Amina bint Abdulhalim Nassar and Abdul Hamid
Al Fakki for "witchcraft."
Saudi Arabia has perfected the art of cognitive
dissonance - or, in plain English, hypocrisy. For
example, Saudi Education Minister Faisal bin Abdullah
bin Mohammed recently spoke at the Saudi-U.S. Business
Opportunities Forum in Atlanta. The Saudi Embassy
reported that "Prince Faisal characterized the
educational system in the Kingdom as a model for the
Middle East and North Africa."
God help us if that's true. An eighth-grade textbook
currently published by the Saudi Education Ministry
declares "The Apes are the people of the Sabbath, the
Jews; and the Swine are the infidels of the communion
of Jesus, the Christians." A ninth-grade textbook
echoes "The Jews and the Christians are enemies of the
believers, and they cannot approve of Muslims." Six
million schoolchildren are indoctrinated with this
every year in Saudi Arabia.
Had Jesus been born in Saudi Arabia today, he'd likely
be imprisoned, flogged or beheaded.
