A delegation of American evangelical Christian leaders have met with the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in the Middle Eastern nation.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Joel C Rosenberg. PICTURE: SPA, 23-02-1440 AH.
The meeting was held despite an international outcry over the death of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khoshoggi – said by Turkish officials to have been killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul – but CBN reports that planning for the meeting had “been in the works for months”.
Author Joel C Rosenberg, who led the delegation, told CBN that while he understood the criticism that it was the “wrong time” to go to Saudi Arabia, he disagreed.
“Given the fact that we care about the people of Saudi Arabia, Christianity in the Arabian Peninsula, the desire to see more freedom of worship, even Christian churches being allowed to be built, this all seemed important to us to do,” he was quoted as saying.
Others in the delegation included Rev Johnnie Moore, president of The Congress of Christian Leaders, Jerry Johnson, president of National Religious Broadcasters, Pastor Skip Heitzig, senior pastor of Calvary Albuquerque in New Mexico, and former US Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
In a statement, the delegation described the two hour meeting as an “historic moment”.
“We discussed his ‘Vision 2030’ plan, the region, Islam and Christianity,” the statement said. “Without question, this is a season of tremendous change in the Middle East, and therefore we have been grateful for the opportunity to meet in-person with key Arab leaders to understand their goals and to ask direct questions. We look forward to building upon these relationships and continuing the dialogue.”
