Religion in Saudi Arabia

Video Transcript

“In Saudi Arabia, everything closes down during prayer time. So there's five times for prayer, and during those five times, the stores will close down, particularly at noon for the short period of time for while the prayer’s going on. And you know when that is because you can hear them recite it from the spires around the mosque. Not like they would do in the old days with a guy crying from the top, then shouting the prayer, but through an electronic system now with speakers. It starts your day, you really don't need an alarm clock because the first prayer in the morning, it’s about the time that you get up if you’re living in and around the city. And then you'll have another one midday, noon, mid-afternoon and then the evening prayer. But you really don’t have to stop in Kuwait, or even in Iraq for those as you do Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is probably more orthodox in following those protocols than say in Kuwait or the UAE or even in Iraq.”

In this video, a retired military officer discusses how religion influences scheduling and daily life in Saudi Arabia.