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The American group was led by Joel Rosenberg, an evangelical political strategist turned novelist
A group of American evangelical figures, including several evangelical advisers to President Donald Trump, met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday. role in the badbadination of editorialist contributing to the Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi, remains unclear. In a statement that included smiling photos, the group said, "We want to call the name of Jesus whenever we are asked and wherever we go."
The meeting at the royal palace in Riyadh takes place amidst many questions about the role played by the prince in the operation that left Khashoggi dead after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2nd. The Crown Prince's allies are trying to support him.
In the communique, the group said that it was the first time the crown prince met American evangelists
the white evangelicals were among the most fervent followers of Trump and had met in the last few months other Middle East leaders whom they considered as allies to put pressure on Iran. Evangelical leaders believe that they will gain more tolerance towards Christian minorities in their diplomatic efforts in countries such as Egypt, where the same group visited last fall to meet with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and the United Arab Emirates where they stopped. Four days of meetings with key leaders before traveling to Saudi Arabia.
Critics point out that government-sponsored discrimination against Christians continues in the region, particularly in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and that these countries are under intense repression. Journalists detained without trial.
The group's spokesman, Johnnie Moore, who also serves as the White House's unofficial liaison with a group of famous conservative evangelicals, said the Khashoggi badbadination and other issues related to the Human rights had been "discussed" with the Saudi prince. He refused to say more.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the richest, most powerful and most important nations in the Middle East, in all of its history," he said. "He also has a tremendous influence on Islamic theology taught around the world.While the Kingdom is restrictive and controversial in various ways and serious, he began to undergo reforms under the Crown Prince.He advocated change radically. " For these reasons, we thought that it was wise to accept the invitation we received from the Kingdom, issued more than two months ago, to come as evangelicals for engage in a dialogue. "
The duration of the meeting was not clear, Riyadh lasted and how many separate events took place." In addition to the meeting with the Crown Prince, the American group also met with the ministers of the United States. Foreign Affairs, Education, Islamic Affairs and the World Center for Countering Extremist Ideology, Government-Run
It was not known how long the meeting had lasted in Riyadh and how many separate events had taken place
The American group was led by Joel Rosenberg, an evangelical political strategist turned novelist who lives in Israel and wrote books on Bible prophecies, as well as the former member Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and President Jerry Johnson, CEO of National Religious Broadcasters, Michael Little, former president and chief operating officer of the Christian Broadcasting Network, wrote Mike Evans, Moore, Public Relations Manager Larry Ross, Skip Heitzig, Pastor of New Mexico and former NRB CEO Wayne Pederson. [19659003] The Jerusalem Post news site featured the group of evangelicals as unofficial ambbadadors of an Israeli government that wishes to ally with Saudi Arabia to confront l & # 39; Iran.
"In a new sign of growing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the crown of the kingdom Prince Mohammed Bin Salman received Thursday in Riyadh a delegation of evangelical Christians led by a prominent pro-Israel defender who lives also in the Jewish state, "said the Jerusalem Post, referring to Rosenberg.
Moore stated that the group did not represent Israel in any way and denied that the trip was coordinated with the White House. Moore was the unofficial organizer and spokesperson for the group of evangelical leaders often brought to the White House for consultations and celebrations.
"Absolutely False The White House was not aware of our coming and we did not send any messages from the White House or the White House," he wrote in a statement. email to The Post.
Moore says the group was invited by the kingdom two months ago and was "the latest in a series of relationship building exercises" between evangelicals and leaders of Muslim nations and Arab.
The Trump administration and its Middle East allies welcomed almost exclusively a slice of American Christians sharing the White House's foreign policy goals. Previous US administrations had maintained various religious advisory committees.
Social media critics published photos of Khashoggi and wondered why this group was there.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been reviewed by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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