The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamicabsolute monarchy in which Sunni Islam is the official state religion based on firm Sharia law. Non-Muslims must practice their religion in private and are vulnerable to discrimination and arrest. While no law requires all citizens to be Muslim, non-Muslim foreigners attempting to acquire Saudi Arabian nationality must convert to Islam. Children born to Muslim fathers are by law deemed Muslim.
Religious freedom is not provided for under the law. The government does not provide legal recognition or protection for freedom of religion, and it is severely restricted in practice. As a matter of policy, the government guarantees and protects the right to private worship for all, including non-Muslims who gather in homes for religious practice; however, this right is not respected in practice and is not defined in law. (Full article...)
... that Saudi Arabian poet Hamad al-Hajji lost three members of his family during his childhood and later suffered from schizophrenia until he died at the age of 49 after a lung disease?
... that the 2021 film West Side Story was banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, likely due to the transgender character Anybodys?
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The Black Stone (Arabic: ٱلْحَجَرُ ٱلْأَسْوَد, al-Ḥajaru al-Aswad, 'Black Stone') is a rock set into the eastern corner of the Kaaba, the ancient building in the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is revered by Muslims as an Islamic relic which, according to Muslim tradition, dates back to the time of Adam and Eve.
The stone was venerated at the Kaaba in pre-Islamic pagan times. According to Islamic tradition, it was set intact into the Kaaba's wall by the Islamic prophetMuhammad in 605 CE, five years before his first revelation. Since then, it has been broken into fragments and is now cemented into a silver frame in the side of the Kaaba. Its physical appearance is that of a fragmented dark rock, polished smooth by the hands of pilgrims. Islamic tradition holds that it fell from heaven as a guide for Adam and Eve to build an altar. It has often been described as a meteorite. (Full article...)
Image 1Nasseef House is a historical structure in Al-Balad, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As of 2009 it is a museum and cultural center which has special exhibits and lectures given by historians.
Image 2A view of Jabal Sawda, a peak located in Saudi Arabia, with an elevation of around 3,000 metres (9,843 ft).[1]
Image 3Sunset view from Farasan Island, the largest island of the Farasan Islands, in the Red Sea. It is located some 50 km offshore from Jizan, the far southwestern part of Saudi Arabia.
... that anti male-guardianship campaign is an ongoing campaign organized by Saudi women against the requirement to obtain permission from their male guardian for activities such as getting a job, travelling internationally or getting married?
Image 10Sections of Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries formed a part of the Roman Empire. (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 11The Rashidun Caliphate reached its greatest extent under Caliph Uthman, c. 654 (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 12Dammam No. 7, the oil well where commercial volumes of oil were first discovered in Saudi Arabia on March 4, 1938. (from History of Saudi Arabia)