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Official Documents
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Post new topic   This topic is locked: you cannot edit posts or make replies.    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Saudi Arabia
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Griff-James



Joined: 08 Oct 2006
Posts: 171
Location: A place full of 18 year olds and endless ale. Not not this time.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:31 pm    Post subject: Official Documents Reply with quote

I've just read a book by S. Griffiths that claims the Saudi authorities need evidence of "Baptism" (a baptismal certificate) before they let you into the country.

Is this true. Shocked
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Griff-James



Joined: 08 Oct 2006
Posts: 171
Location: A place full of 18 year olds and endless ale. Not not this time.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is a serious question, as I might need to get one.

Confused
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Zajko



Joined: 31 May 2007
Posts: 130
Location: No Fixed Address :)

PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, they don't: at least never in my experience or that of anyone I've met. If you have a non-Muslim name/ancestry and are claiming to be a Muslim on your visa application they'll usually require a certificate or statement of conversion/Islamicity from your local mosque. For those who are Christian (whether by conviction or convenience) however, you simply state this as your religion on the application form and that's that.

Not sure if 'Islamicity' is a word, by the way, but it's the best I could think of in the circumstances. If anyone can think of a better one I'm happy to stand corrected.
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Saudi4Ever



Joined: 25 Mar 2004
Posts: 135

PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zajko wrote:

Not sure if 'Islamicity' is a word, by the way, but it's the best I could think of in the circumstances. If anyone can think of a better one I'm happy to stand corrected.


Shahadah, the testimony of faith.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Years ago they used to ask for evıdence of relıgıous faıth. Not now.
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007



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Saudi4Ever wrote:
Zajko wrote:

Not sure if 'Islamicity' is a word, by the way, but it's the best I could think of in the circumstances. If anyone can think of a better one I'm happy to stand corrected.


Shahadah, the testimony of faith.

The declaration of belief in the oneness of God.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahadah
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Saudi4Ever



Joined: 25 Mar 2004
Posts: 135

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 1:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

007 wrote:
Saudi4Ever wrote:

Shahadah, the testimony of faith.

The declaration of belief in the oneness of God.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahadah


Same thing...
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Cleopatra



Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know of a few Buddhists who pretended to be Christian on their visa forms in order to ease their application. Their claims were never doubted, however implausible they may seem. As far as I know, only Muslims might be asked to prove their religious allegiance.
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007



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cleopatra wrote:
As far as I know, only Muslims might be asked to prove their religious allegiance.

Why?
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Zajko



Joined: 31 May 2007
Posts: 130
Location: No Fixed Address :)

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
As far as I know, only Muslims might be asked to prove their religious allegiance.

Why?


That's a weird question for someone who has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia, and who posts / claims to know as much about the Magic Kingdom as you supposedly do, isn't it, 007?

In a country where entirely different rules and laws apply to Muslims and non-Muslims in areas as fundamental as which cities you can and can't visit, where you can and can't live and work, what visas you can get and what buses you can travel on, why on earth do you think?
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007



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zajko wrote:
That's a weird question for someone who has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia, and who posts / claims to know as much about the Magic Kingdom as you supposedly do, isn't it, 007?

No, it is not!
Not true! Your stereotyping of me is totally wrong!

Quote:
In a country where entirely different rules and laws apply to Muslims and non-Muslims in areas as fundamental as which cities you can and can't visit, where you can and can't live and work, what visas you can get and what buses you can travel on, why on earth do you think?

Wrong! You did not answer my question.
Try another answer.
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:53 pm    Post subject: Off limits Reply with quote

Dear 007,
Well, being a non-Muslim, I'd better not apply for a job based in Makkah or Medina.
And if I were a Muslim and applied for such a job, I'd better be able to prove I'm a Muslim.
Regards,
John
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007



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 6:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Off limits Reply with quote

johnslat wrote:
Dear 007,
Well, being a non-Muslim, I'd better not apply for a job based in Makkah or Medina.

It depends on the location of your employer. If the location of your employer is outside the borders of 'Al-Haram' (forbidden boudaries) and still in the city of Madinah or Makkah, then it is possible for a non-Muslim to work and live in the area. If the location is inside 'Al-Haram', then yes you would better not to apply.
Because Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter or cross the 'Al-Haram' lines.

Quote:
And if I were a Muslim and applied for such a job, I'd better be able to prove I'm a Muslim.

Not necessarily!


Last edited by 007 on Tue Jan 29, 2008 6:45 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Saudi4Ever



Joined: 25 Mar 2004
Posts: 135

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cleopatra wrote:
As far as I know, only Muslims might be asked to prove their religious allegiance.


I wouldn't exactly call it 'proof'. Many people LIE and claim to be Muslim. I've met several women, who are married to saudis that lied and said they were Muslim and many of them have the most extreme hatred for Islam. One blogger mentions here, how she lied to make her visa process easier , at the request of hewr husband.

Quote:
I also went to an Islamic Center and got a certificate saying that I was a Muslim. Adnan told me that if I had this, it would make things easier for me in Arabia, so I did.

http://susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com/2007/12/live-from-jeddahits-susie-of-arabia.html

So I guess if someone is desparate enough to really want to see Makkah and Medinah than they can go this route.
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:51 pm    Post subject: The proof is in Reply with quote

Dear 007,
Even if the "proof" were only reciting the Shahadah (in Arabic) and adhering
to the Five Pillars of Islam, that, to my mind, anyway, would still be "proof."
Regards,
John
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