The National Saudi National Day (Al Yaumul Watan) is celebrating 93 years since the founding of the kingdom on September 23. In 1921, Abdul Aziz ibn Saud took over Arabia with the help of the British, who had just defeated the Ottoman empire. Forbidden since its inception, kingship not being allowed in Islam, a succession of infractions against the religion followed predictably, up until the present day.
In a clear departure from what the rest of the Muslim world has considered good throughout history, they have banned the celebration of the birth of our Beloved Messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Instead, Saudi Arabia is celebrating its National Day just before the timing of the Mawlid Shareef, with parades, fireworks, henna and face painting, celebrations, food and air and water shows. In other Muslim-majority countries, these activities are used for Eids, among them the birthday of the Holy Last Messenger, peace be upon him. The house of Saud holds more weight in Saudi Arabia than do Islamic practices.
As our holy Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) predicted, the horns of Satan have emerged from Najd, home of the house of Saud. (stated in the hadith collection of Sahih Bukhari – verified sayings and accounts of the Holy Last Messenger, peace be upon him).
The Muslim world has already seen holy places in Madinah and Makkah razed to make place for shopping malls for the entertainment of Muslims. Muslims have also witnessed the Big Ben type clock that towers over the Kaaba, in homage to the British.
What was unprecedented was bringing in entertainers of the worst caliber into the holy lands to perform for the tourist industry that has drawn more than 120 million people. An Australian rapper’s concert was ended prematurely recently because of her “wardrobe malfunction.”
Then there is the winter wonderland event in Riyadh, with huge effigies of Christmas reindeer. Nothing against Christmas. But there is hypocrisy in allowing the celebration of Christmas and banning the celebration of the Mawlid Shareef.
Despite the image they have in the West as being the true source of Islamic teachings, all of this is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 de-Islamification program. It’s no surprise that the Mawlid Shareef is unwelcome.
By Noora Ahmed
