Pakistani columnist Mohammad Taqi has written that "the Saudi regime is also acutely aware that, in the final analysis, Shiite grievances [..] stem from socioeconomic deprivation, as a result of religious repression and political marginalization bordering on apartheid."[REF] .
Testifying before the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Ali al-Ahmed, Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, stated "Saudi Arabia is a glaring example of religious apartheid.