Saudi authorities close two more Shia mosques

The number of Shia mosques closed in Saudi Arabia has reached nine after authorities sealed shut two more mosques in the Kingdom's Eastern Province.

According to the Rasid News Network, security forces closed the only Ismaili mosque in Ras Tanura and have been preventing Shia citizens from performing daily prayers since last Friday.

The Shia mosque of Abqaiq was closed on the same day and some online sources reported the closure of another Shia mosque in Jubail.

Authorities also ordered all Shia mosques to be closed in the cities of Khobar, Dammam and Khafji last month and issued orders banning Shias from building mosques outside Najran and religious centers and cemeteries outside Qatif and Al-Hassa.

Shia Muslims, who comprise nearly one-fourth of the Saudi population, have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens in the Kingdom.

The Saudi government has been closing Shia mosques using various excuses, and has refused to issue building permits for the erection of new places of worship.

A recent report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) strongly lashed out at Saudi Arabia over its "systemic state discrimination" against Shia Muslims across the Kingdom, saying that the unfavorable treatment of Shia Muslims "extends from education and employment to the justice system."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=110843§ionid=351020206.