Here’s the State Department’s newly released report on religious freedom in the apartheid theocracy of Saudi Arabia.

Allow me to sum up: there isn’t any.

“Magic” was widely believed in and sometimes practiced. However, under Shari’a the practice of magic was regarded as the worst form of polytheism and was severely punished. There were an unknown number of detainees held in prison on the charge of “sorcery,” including the practice of “black magic” or “witchcraft.” During the reporting period, the local press reported several cases of arrests of foreigners and citizens for practicing “sorcery.” The raids were reported to be part of a campaign to locate illegal residents.

Mutawwa’in practices and incidents of abuse varied widely in different regions of the country. Reports of incidents were most numerous in the central Nejd region, which includes the capital Riyadh. In certain areas, both mutawwa’in and religious vigilantes acting on their own harassed, assaulted, battered, apprehended, and detained citizens and foreigners. The Government requires mutawwa’in to follow established procedures and to offer instruction in a polite manner. However, mutawwa’in did not always comply with these requirements and the Government did not take legal or police action against mutawwa’in who violated these regulations, even in cases where they used physical violence against detainees.

Mutawwa’in enforcement of strict standards of social behavior included closing commercial establishments during the five daily prayer observances, insisting upon compliance with conservative dress standards, and dispersing gatherings in public places. Mutawwa’in enforcement of strict standards of social behavior was more pronounced during the month of Ramadan. Mutawwa’in reproached foreign women for failure to observe strict dress codes, particularly for failure to wear headscarves, and detained men and women found together who were not married or closely related. In the past, the press reported that mutawwa’in warned shopkeepers not to sell New Year’s or Christmas gifts or decorations. The warning also reminded employees not to allow their staff to celebrate either holiday openly. In February 2004, the grand mufti restated a previously issued fatwa that declared Valentine’s Day a “pagan Christian holiday” that could not be celebrated publicly. Mutawwa’in banned shopkeepers from selling Valentine’s Day gifts and decorations and forbade vendors from selling roses five days prior to and following February 14.

Mutawwa’in had the authority to confront persons for violations of strict standards of proper dress and behavior and to apprehend individuals committing a crime, but must immediately hand suspects over to the police. However, they sometimes detained people for more than twenty-four hours before delivering them to the police. The interior minister announced this policy, but no information was available on whether the Government had taken measures to hold accountable mutawwa’in who broke the rules. Procedures required that a police officer accompany mutawwa’in at the time of arrest. Mutawwa’in generally complied with this requirement, but there were cases during the year in which mutawwa’in violated this requirement. As a matter of policy, mutawwa’in must also have a warrant and be accompanied by a police officer to enter a private residence; however, there were several reported cases where mutawwa’in did not produce a warrant before entering the premises. Mutawwa’in could not conduct investigations or allow unpaid volunteers to accompany official patrols; however, there were cases during the year in which unofficial mutawwa’in harassed individuals and used noncitizen informants to gather information for investigations of other non-Muslims. During the reporting period, the Government issued a decree that all members of the mutawwa’in must wear an official photo identification badge, and all future members of the mutawwa’in must be trained at a special institute. Current members of the mutawwa’in were to undergo retraining. By the end of the reporting period, there were no known instances where mutawwa’in were held accountable for violating government policies.

In May 2006 the Government issued a decree to all thirteen provinces stating that all cases involving alleged harassment by the mutawwa’in would be transferred for investigation to the Board of Investigation and Prosecution, an independent board in each province that answers to each region’s governor. In the past, the mutawwa’in had conducted independent, internal investigations of complaints against it. The decree also reiterated that the role of the mutawwa’in ended with the apprehension of individuals accused of crimes and that the mutawwa’in must immediately hand them over to the police.

In general, non-Muslim, non-Western religious communities must exercise extreme caution when practicing their religions. The press reported in March 2005 that mutawwa’in raided a makeshift Hindu shrine in Riyadh, destroying its temple and forcing worshippers to cease their activities. The Government reportedly deported three worshippers.

During the reporting period, there continued to be instances in which mosque preachers, who are paid government stipends, used anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, and anti-Shi’a language in their sermons. Although this language has declined in frequency since the Government began encouraging moderation following the 2003 terror attacks, there continued to be instances in which mosque speakers prayed for the death of Jews and Christians, including from the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.