Turns out the reported “snub” to Barack Obama from Saudi Arabia’s newly crowned king, Salman, was a product of Islam: the king — indeed, apparently every Saudi present — interrupted the welcoming protocol for the U.S. president because it was prayer time.
Below you can see the video again, where the king and his entourage meet and welcome Obama, according to protocol, until a man comes apparently to remind Salman it’s prayer time, and the king and all his men turn their back on Obama without a moment’s hesitation and depart — leaving Obama seemingly “hanging” for a moment (see around the :40-45 second mark). With no Saudis remaining with him, Obama turns to a nearby Western diplomat and strikes up a perfunctory conversation.
Performing prayers is ultimately a product of Islamic law. But if the king and Saudis take prayer so seriously, what of Sharia’s other injunctions — the ones the West dismisses as “radical” — such as killing apostates, banning religious freedom, having enmity for non-Muslims, etc.
Is it not safe to assume that the Muslim who meticulously follows the prayer rule — because Sharia tells him to — will also follow Sharia’s other teachings, especially when they’re easier, less demanding? (Killing a “traitorous” apostate, or behaving in a supremacist fashion to all outsiders (“infidels”) is a lot easier to do than pray five times every single day).
Weeks earlier, for example, a woman had her head hacked off in the streets of Mecca (graphic video here) — not by the Islamic State, Boko Haram, or Al Shabaab, but by the Saudi government itself. Churches, crosses, and Christmas are strictly banned. Etc.
At any rate, this “snub” appears to have been the king’s way of showing that Islam always comes first.
Besides, he probably figured Obama — “son of Islam” — would surely understand.
Obama have avoided that awkwardness by simply flying past Saudi Arabia on a non stop flight to New Delhi.
I was appalled that The Australian flag was lowered to half mast at Parliament House on the day the former KSA king died. It’s a joke as it is Islamaphobic to lower the KSA flag to half mast, so why should we do the same for them?
We desperately need a new revolutionary energy source, something where all nations, small and large, rich and poor can use which completely lowers the price of oil as demand will become so low.
When that day comes, it will be a sight seeing the money dry up, the foreign workers who are the only people actually making KSA work and still get abused for it will leave and KSA will revert back to barbarianism. Saudis only need look at Yemen and see what their post oil future looks like.
Just as every Christian loves his God above his country, so does every Muslim!
A Christian does not compare his loyalty to his country with his religious belief.
They are two different things like day and night.
God and one’s country have nothing to compete for. No one prays to his country for forgiveness, help, or for staying on the right way in his/her behaviour, and no oneasks God God to provide public goods like daily security, access to healthcare, education, social protection, infrastructure, economic growth etc.
obviously deliberate, as they could have planned the entire ‘protocol’ between prayer times. It happened to me once in Pakistan years ago, visiting a state institution, when one of the key people in the meeting just disappeared and the others who stayed behind told me he had gone to pray…this was over 10 years ago, I wonder how many would have stayed in the room today…