Lights adorn the house, a wreath hangs on the door, and a decorated pine tree stands in the living room.

The home of the Matt Weaver family would offer a typical American scene over the Christmas holidays — except that it's in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

The former Grass Valley residents have been living in Saudi Arabia for more than two years. Matt Weaver — known for his partnership in the now-closed Weaver Truck and Auto Center in Grass Valley and, previously, for his ownership of the Holbrooke Hotel downtown — oversees operations for a construction project at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

From his home in the capital, it's a 45-minute drive to Bahrain, where people are allowed to drink alcoholic beverages and women can drive, Weaver said.

But Saudi Arabia is probably the most religiously “closed” nation in the Middle East, Weaver said. That is because the kingdom is home to Mecca, birthplace of Islam's founder Mohammed, and to Medina, the town where Mohammed solidified his movement, united conflicting tribes under his new religion and died in 632.

Christianity has the most adherents around the world, and Islam is second, with 1.5 billion believers, followed by Hinduism. But of the three, followers of Islam are far more likely to say their own faith is the only true spiritual path, according to a recent global survey released earlier this year by British pollster Ipsos-Mori and reported by CNN.

Weaver has seen that fervor in person.

“I believe in the Bible, but I have doubts about some parts,” Weaver said. In contrast, his Saudi friends tell him, “We absolutely believe everything in the Q'uran,” he added.

That makes celebrating Christmas in Saudi Arabia risky.

Middle-Eastern and African Christians have faced legal action for practicing their faith in Saudi Arabia, according to International Christian Concern, an organization that tracks persecution of Christians.

Early in December, 35 Ethiopian Christians were arrested while holding a weekly prayer meeting in a private home, ICC reported. Last week, they were charged with mixing with nonfamily members of the opposite sex, which is illegal in the kingdom. Saudi church officials believe the Ethiopians really were arrested for practicing their faith, they told ICC.

And during the Gulf War, the Saudi government thwarted efforts by American churches to ship Bibles to U.S. service men and women stationed in the kingdom, according to published reports.

Within such confines, Weaver relishes discussing his religion with Saudi colleagues, he said.

“I make a point of getting into political and religious conversations with my Saudi colleagues that I can trust,” Weaver said. “They enjoy teaching a westerner about their culture, and we have some great conversations.”

But, sometimes, he also senses a “stiffening” when talk turns to practical matters that revolve around religious practices of Christians, such as letting Christian employees take time off for Christmas, Weaver said.

Faith and reformation

Muslims believe Christianity's Jesus was a great prophet — but not as great as Mohammed, who came nearly 600 years later, and whom they consider the final prophet sent by God into the world with God's final truth.

In private and earnest conversations about religion and culture, Weaver has seen his Saudi friends struggle with the rigidity and contradictions of a faith they follow devoutly.

“These are very conservative guys who went to school in the States. They pray five times daily; they're family guys,” Weaver said. But they are concerned about the radical currents in their culture that have “hijacked” their faith, he added.

“They tell me, ‘We don't know what to do about it,'” Weaver said.

He sees the Islamic world as due for a reformation something like that experienced in European Christianity after German priest Martin Luther publicly posted his 95 objections to Catholic dogma and practice in 1517.

Muslims “haven't had that yet,” Weaver said. “The question I have is, will technology allow the ugly side of the religion to become stronger, or will it allow the people who are incredibly silent to get their voice out?”

Political revolutions in the Muslim world this year have raised the possibility of greater democracy, and the fear, in some circles, that people will choose to create nations ruled by Islamic rather than secular law.

The new, mixed-gender university in Thuwal on the shore of the Red Sea where Weaver is overseeing construction is a prominent sign of the kingdom's modernization efforts. The goal of Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is to “establish a world-class university specializing in science research and technology development,” according to a project website.

Women there do not cover their heads, but they do conduct research, Weaver said. It's perhaps one of the most visible symbols of the struggle within Islam to reconcile faith and modernity.

Perhaps protected by being an American and working for a large company, Weaver is able to nurture his own family's faith. Though the family does not attend Christian services, his daughters study Bible through a local Awana Club, he said.

In the meantime, though the Weaver family decorates for Christmas, they head out of the region to celebrate Christmas Day. This year, they are visiting family in England.

“I make a point that we always celebrate Christmas in a Christian country,” Weaver said. “I want my children to see it... I want to make sure they're grounded in my culture.”

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To contact Senior Staff Writer Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4230.