Turns out the reported “snub” to Barack Obama from Saudi Arabia’s newly crowned king, Salman, was a product of Islam: the king — indeed, apparently every Saudi present — interrupted the welcoming protocol for the U.S. president because it was prayer time.
You can see the video here, where the king and his entourage meet and welcome Obama, according to protocol, until a man comes apparently to remind Salman it’s prayer time, and the king and all his men turn their back on Obama without a moment’s hesitation and depart — leaving Obama seemingly “hanging” for a moment (see around the :40-45 second mark). With no Saudis remaining with him, Obama turns to a nearby Western diplomat and strikes up a perfunctory conversation.
Performing prayers is ultimately a product of Islamic law. But if the king and Saudis take prayer so seriously, what of Sharia’s other injunctions — the ones the West dismisses as “radical” — such as killing apostates, banning religious freedom, having enmity for non-Muslims, etc.
Is it not safe to assume that the Muslim who meticulously follows the prayer rule — because Sharia tells him to — will also follow Sharia’s other teachings, especially when they’re easier, less demanding? (Killing a “traitorous” apostate, or behaving in a supremacist fashion to all outsiders (“infidels”) is a lot easier to do than pray five times every single day).
Weeks earlier, for example, a woman had her head hacked off in the streets of Mecca (graphic video here) — not by the Islamic State, Boko Haram, or Al Shabaab, but by the Saudi government itself. Churches, crosses, and Christmas are strictly banned. Etc.
At any rate, this “snub” appears to have been the king’s way of showing that Islam always comes first.
Besides, he probably figured Obama — “son of Islam” — would surely understand.