The following events were reconstructed through numerous interviews with Ismailis citizens and some government officials, who didn’t wish to be named. Ismaili Muslims are the main victims of the official policy of religious apartheid and supremacy. They are persecuted for their ethnic and religious affiliations.

Najran is a Saudi southern city near the Yemeni border. The city enjoyed a long history in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. It was a center of Christianity until 1100 years ago, and is home to the famous trench (Al-Akhdood), mentioned in the Koran. The trench according to Koran holds the charred bodies of Christian and Jewish believers who were burnt for their faith in 6th century in Najran by pagan a king.

Koran chapter 85 reads as: [4] Woe, the People of the Trench were murdered: [5] Behold Fire supplied (abundantly) with Fuel: [6] Behold! They sat over the (fire), [7] And they (the killers) will bear witness before God to what they did to the Believers. [8] And they persecuted them (the believers), for no reason other than that they believed in Allah, Exalted in Power, Worthy of all Praise!

Najran now is the main center of Ismaili Muslims in Saudi Arabia. The history of Shiasm in Najran is 1400 years old in connection to the tribes of Yam and Hamadan, who fought alongside Imam Ali Ben Aby Talib, the first Shia Imam and cousin of Prophet Mohamed.

The suffering of Yam tribe has increased sharply after the arrival of Prince Mishael Ben Saud, the current governor in 1997. Since then, government officials have embarked on a campaign of dismembering the Ismaili body in the Kingdom.

Several officials publicly stated their plans to convert all Ismailis to Wahhabi brand of Islam. An official told James Dorsey of the Wall Street Journal, on January 9th that Ismailis are infidels and should convert to Wahhabism. "These people are infidels because they do not follow the Sunna," or the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, says Sheik Ali Khursan, a bearded Dawa official. "They don't believe that the Koran is complete and they hate the Sunnis." "We don't eat their food, we don't intermarry with them, we should not pray for their dead or allow them to be buried in our cemeteries."

Another official Shikah AbdulAziz Ahmed Al-Mushaiqeh, the director of Ministry of Islamic Affairs told Al-Watan newspaper that the new his new office was opened to further the Salafi (Wahhabi) message in Njaran. Mishale Ben Saud approved the office, according the Al-Watan.

The campaign against Ismailis commenced with the arrival of Mishael as governor in 1997. At the end of Ramadan that year he sent military armors and police cars to prevent Ismailis from performing Eid prayers. That year Ismailis celebrated Eid one day ahead of the government, because they use their own calculations to decide Eid, and reach different results. Ismailis then were instructed to perform Eid prayers at homes by their leader, the Dayee Shaikh Hussain Ismail Al-Makrami.

Later Mishael ordered the arrests of Shaikh Mahdi Theab Al-Mahaan and his brother Shaikh Ali on sorcery charges.

Another figure that played a role in the anti-Ismaili campaign was Shaikh Mohamed Al-Askary, the highest-ranking judge in Najran. Al-Askri is believed to have encouraged the attack on Al-Mansoorah main mosque. He was promoted to a senior judge shortly after the attack.

The Attack:

Shortly after 3 p.m. on Sunday April 23, 2000 several Mabahith jeeps and cars of the religious police approached Al-Mansoorah mosque and stormed it without warning. Inside, there was about five Ismailis who were attending a religious class given by a Yemeni Ismaili, Shaikh Mohamed Al-Khayat.

The troops arrested Al-Khayat, confiscated religious manuscripts, and locked four Ismailis inside the mosque. The troops also shot one Ismaili who tried to follow them. The unprovoked attack on the mosque and arrest of Al-Khayat sent scores of Ismailis to the residence of the governor at the Holiday Inn.

Over 60 Ismailis gathered outside the hotels demanding Al-Khayat release. Few hours passed with tension rising due to the presence of truck mounted machine guns outside the hotel and the refusal of Mishael to release the cleric.

During arguments a member of police threatened to use the truck mounted machine gun to disperse the crowed. Government forces started to shot and killed two Ismailis, Saleh Ben Natash, 50, and Ibn Shqayeh, 17, who was found dead a week later between trees nearby.

During the night the government dispatched emergency forces who were unable to enter Al-Mansoorah neighborhood, the heart of Ismaili dawa. Some Ismailis took to their guns to protect their leader Shaikh Hussian Ismail Al-Makrami, who lives in the area.

Army Against Civilians:

On Monday afternoon the government dispatched the (the Fourth brigade) called Qawat Al-Wajib, headed by Major General Hamood Ben Suliman Al-Khamash. The force was dispatchedfrom its Najran barracks to take over the city. The brigade has over 20 American made tanks and other vehicles.

Two Abrams tanks took positions outside the holiday Inn, one Abrams tank at Al-Khamis fork, another tank was stationed outside the governor’s office in Al-Dhayafah neighborhood. Another tank guarded the road to Sahrwra. There were Bradley armored vehicles, and other army trucks with each tank. Other tanks were spread across Najran

There was no direct exchange of fire but some armored vehicles opened in the direction of some Ismaili in the cars but no one was hurt. Later on Tuesday, the army started arresting Ismailis citizens and holding them in Bradley vehicles until transport outside Najran. Many elderly were reported arrested and tied up with metal wires. Over 600 Ismailis were arrested from the street mostly. Some returning students from Jeddah were arrested and remain in prison. The Army stayed one week in Najran and did most of the arrests and beatings of Ismailis citizens.

Transfer:

Several classified documents obtained by the Institute clearly show a systematic campaign against Ismaili citizens. The unprecedented campaign of religious and ethnic transfer has been continuing and affected over 2100 Ismailis in addition to their families. Government employs have been transferred. Teachers, border guards, and other civil servants were continually transferred and replaced by non-Ismaili citizens.

Torture:

There are many Ismailis who were tortured, especially after the April attack by army forces and Mabahith. Tortured victims included elderly men. Hussain Marzook Al-Ghobary, 50, a farmer suffered a nervous breakdown after he was imprisoned in April 2000 for six months. Four Ismaili high school students were flogged for fighting with a Hanbali teacher who insulted their religious beliefs in the classroom. They were sentenced between 2 to 4 years and 500 to 800 lashes. They include Ali Siraj Al-Yami, and Ali Yahya Al-Yami.

Sorcery:

The government used accusation of sorcery against Ismaili religious leaders to cover its real motive. Shaikh Mahdi Theeb Al-Mahan was accused of that charge and served three years and 300 lashes. Shaikh Mohamed Al-Khayat was also accused of the same charge. Prince Naif and Mishael have said to local media that Al-Khayat is a sorcerer who was arrested from his home not mosque.

Religious Apartheid and Wahbization:

This year the campaign of spreading the official sect in Najran took on a high tone. An office for dawa (propagation) was opened by Prince Mishael to promote the Salafi dawa (Wahhabi interpretation). The government started an aggressive campaign to constructed new Wahhabi mosques in Najran. At least $ 11million was spent to constructed and expand 9 mosques this year according the several newspapers.

Najran has been experiencing increasing acts of anti-Ismailism. Many were arrested, flogged for drummed-up charges. Several land confiscation were reported. A proposal to open a branch of the (Wahhabi) religious university Imam Mohamed Ben Saud in Najran was submitted. The government also ordered the construction of 28 new official mosques to be headed by Wahhabi imams as an apparent attempt to Wahbanize Najran.

Hammam Tribe:

The government has started to change the demographic nature of Najran. The government granted two Yemeni tribes Saudi citizenship and allocated them land and jobs in Najran. The tribe lived in Najran as refugees since the 1960’s due to communist control of South Yemen.

They were granted large plots of land to replace their chantey homes on the outskirts of Najran. Their new area is called Meshaleyah, named after prince Mishael. Hammam tribe amounts to over 15,000 people. They have been given government jobs, while job market is very tight and unemployment runs at 40%.

Prisoners:

The majority of prisoners held in the country for political or religious reasons are Shia Ismailis. There are about 105 Ismaili prisoners, including five senior religious leaders, mostly arrested after the April 2000 attack. Currently there are 17 Ismaili prisoners who are facing execution. Saleh Al-Yami, Ismaili journalist from Rahima was arrested after he spoke on Al-Jazirah news station in Qatar following the April 2000 attack on the Al-Mansoorah mosque. He was sentenced for seven years and remains in Dammam prison. Ahmed Turki Al-Saab, 42, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and torture-by -floggings 1200 times in a Najran city court on Tuesday April, 23. He was arrested January 15, a week after the Wall Street Journal published his comments regarding religious apartheid against the Ismailis. In Early February Al-Saab was seen in King Khalid hospital on a wheelchair due to torture he endured in Najran Mabahith prison. Shaikh Mahdi Al-Mahan was arrested sometime in 1999 prior to the attack on the mosque. He was accused of sorcery and sentenced to three years and 3000 lashes. He remains in Al-Malaz prison in Riyadh. His younger brother Shaikh Ali was arrested for one year and was released. Four Ismaili high school students were sentenced to 2 years and 800 lashes after a fight with a teacher who insulted their faith and called them heathens. Ali Mahdi Al-Misaad and his cousin Mubarieck Salim Al-Misaad were arrested in 1999 and sentenced 30 months and 500 lashes. Ali Siraj Al-Saloom and Ali Yahya Al-Salim were arrested in the same case when a brother of a security official accused them of threatening him. They received a prison sentence, which was increased in appeal to 20 months and 500 lashes.

Jeddah Arrest

On April 29th, 2001 a group of Ismaili leaders traveled to Jeddah to meet with Crown Prince Abdullah to hand him a letter of grievances against Prince Naif and Mishael. The letter accused Naif and Mishael of engineering a campaign of religious apartheid, economic, educational and cultural suffocation.

The letter, which was obtained by the Institute, outlined the systematic attack on Ismailis and implicated several officials, and provided supporting official documents. Prince Abdullah promised Ismaili leaders to address their grievances but they were arrested later apparently against the Prince Abdullah’s wishes. They were all released a month later after his intervention. One of them is the tribal leader Shaikh Ahmed Turki Al-Saab , 47, from Najran, who was arrested January 15 a week after he granted the Wall Street Journal an interview, publish on the 9th. He remains in prison and was reportedly tortured.

Religious Holidays:

Ismailis are prevented from attending Eid prayers when their Eid days differ from the state-declared days. This policy started in 1997 with the arrival of Mishael Ben Saud the governor of Najran who sent an army unit and police cars to surround all Ismaili mosques to prevent them from performing Eid prayers. They have been performing Eid prayers at homes since. Shia Ismailis independently decide their own Eid days, and use astronomical calculations to determine their Eid days, while the official religious institution use moon sighting.

Collective Punishment:

Collective punishment is apparently reserved to religious minorities and not used against tribal or regional groups. For example, thousands of Shia Ismailis became a target of religious apartheid, were demoted, fired, and transferred from Najran after the April 2000 mosque attack. Hundreds of interior ministry employees were transferred away from Najran. Also 70 teachers were transferred to the Northern Province August 9, 2000. No Ismaili students were accepted at military colleges this year, unlike the past years.