Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Our Allies in Saudi Arabia

The pope might not be welcome in Saudi Arabia anytime soon. At least magazine covers of him are not.

Riyadh authorities have censored the Arabic version of the August issue of National Geographic, which featured a cover photo of Pope Francis. Although officially there has been no explanation of the ban, the leaders of the Islamic country are reportedly  "offended" by the of the head of the Catholic Church presence in the prestigious journal.

With friends like them and the Israelis is it any wonder we're re-engaging with Cuba and Iran. 

Saudi Arabia is based on Sharia, or Islamic law, which imposes the "death penalty" in cases of "murder, rape, drug trafficking and sorcery." In the ultra-conservative Sunni Wahhabi kingdom, women are forbidden to drive and must always be accompanied by a man with whom they have close ties of kinship.

Moreover, these days, the Pope continues to promote a policy of welcome and support for refugees fleeing from the wars in the Middle East, particularly the Syrians (mostly Muslims), opening the doors of the Vatican and inviting priests to do the same in parishes; compared to a Saudi Arabia that has never accepted any refugees in four years of conflict, and who have effectively sealed their borders.

Oh yeah, that's where 17 of the hijackers on 9/11 were from, too. 

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