Saudi Grand Mufti declares celebrating birthdays an infidel practiceAnd here is another way which Saudi makes sure to stay distant from us despised infidels, from an August 20, 2008 editorial in the Washington Post:
And every major Muslim thinker agrees. Another clear instance of the doctrine of al-Wala' we al-Bara', as the issue at hand is the great need to differentiate oneself from non-Muslims and their infidel practices. "Grand mufti rejects Al-Oadah's fatwa," from Arab News, August 20:Celebrating birthdays and wedding anniversaries has no base in Islam, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Alsheikh has said.
[...]
Al-Alsheikh, who is the highest religious authority in the Kingdom, said Muslims only have two official celebrations — Eid Al-Fitr, which is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, and Eid Al-Adha, which is celebrated on Dhul Hijjah 10. He added that Muslims also have a weekly Eid, which is Friday.
The mufti said that the celebration of other occasions such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries and mother’s day were un-Islamic.
Several prominent Muslim scholars have supported the mufti, adding that celebrating such occasions is in imitation of people of the Jewish and Christian faiths.
Olympic Embarrassment: Saudi Arabia's Olympic team has no women.Saudi Moslems — What a bunch of party poopers!
"THE PRACTICE of sport is a human right." So proudly affirms the International Olympic Committee in Principle 4 of the "Fundamental Principles of Olympism." "Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit." And Principle 5 makes explicit that discrimination based on gender "is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement." So what is an all-male Saudi team doing in Beijing?...
"It's not as if there are no women from majority-Muslim countries competing in the Beijing Games....Algeria, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have women on their teams. In fact, Bahrain and the UAE even allowed women to carry their national flags....Brunei is the other Muslim country that does not allow women to play sports....