.....but a lot of his followers are bloodthirsty savages.
That's 13th century according to the Islamic calendar but the 7th century AD (and none of this Common Era bullshit. "Common? common to what? Oh the Christian basis of the western calendar, you mean the one now in general use world-wide, well, why didn't you just say AD then?"....).
The Saudis, as members of the puritanical Wahhabi sect, hew to an extremely rigid and intolerant interpretation of Islam, itself not the warmest and fuzziest of religions. No shit indeed, these folks really belief that 7th-century Arabia was the Golden Age purely because it was the time of Muhammad, the perfect man (al-insan al-kamil) who is the model for all good Muslims to aspire to. In keeping with this, the Saudis impose rigid social strictures to prevent all that nasty modernity from leaking in. So no alcohol, no pork, no open worship of other religions ("there is no compulsion in Islam?", Pah!), no houses of worship of other religions (although the Saudis have spent billions supporting the construction of mosques in the dar-ul-harb).
However perhaps I am being a bit harsh, the Saudis can bend somewhat on their principles and allow for some modernity. So the 7th century is the acme of perfection except for:
1) 21st century medicine, which the rich, bloated ruling class avail themselves of, particularly at the best, most modern medical centres in the West. No camel's urine for these folk!
Narrated Anas: Some people from 'Uraina tribe came to Medina and its climate did not suit them, so Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) allowed them to go to the herd of camels (given as Zakat) and they drank their milk and urine (as medicine) but they killed the shepherd and drove away all the camels. So Allah's Apostle sent (men) in their pursuit to catch them, and they were brought, and he had their hands and feet cut, and their eyes were branded with heated pieces of iron and they were left in the Harra (a stony place at Medina) biting the stones. (See Hadith No. 234, Vol. 1)
2) State of the art weaponry. Again none of that 7th century swords and arrows stuff. What do you think they are, primitive?
3) Modern communications such as the internet, but only for proselytising the kuffar!
4) The internal combustion engine. Source of their undeserved wealth and of course no self-respecting sheikh would be seen in anything less than a luxury German marque or sleek Italian sportscar.
Regarding the "undeserved" quip above, the only reason the Saudis are able to support such an otherwise unfeasible position is due to the petrodollars flooding in for a resource that they did not develop, do not extract, are unable to distribute or refine into its myriad uses. But for an accident of geology (Praise Allah!), the Saudis would be insignificant desert nomads and not an exporter of fundamentalist doctrines. Now if only some whizzkid would invent some cheap, safe and almost limitless energy source, where are all those Jewish geniuses when you need them?
*This post is in response to the Hamza Kashgari affair, I've tried to do my bit by signing petitions, joining support groups etc. but frankly it looks like the poor guy has as much chance as a snowflake in hell, which sounds like a perfect metaphor for the situation.
