Archery Banned in Saudi Arabia

I learned something bizarre today.

According to an immigrant from Saudi Arabia I spoke to today, archery is banned and illegal in Saudi Arabia. It is apparently illegal to practice recreational archery for fun, illegal to bowhunt and the only type of archery allowed is competitive Olympic-style archery. Every other form of archery is completely banned.

What is bizarre about this is that it actually contradicts Islam. As an Islamic country, Saudi Arabia should want to uphold the teachings of Muhammad. During his teachings Muhammad said that archery, horsemanship and swimming were recreational activities that all men should do. It should also be noted that swordsmanship was also considered to be important, although that was more for war and less for recreation.

So a note to the wise - don't plan any tourist trips to Saudi Arabia unless you plan on leaving your archery equipment behind. Also please be advised that the court system in Saudi Arabia is ridiculously corrupt and not friendly towards foreigners, so getting accused of any crime there will be super expensive and could take years to sort out. You could end up languishing in a prison there for years for even a minor crime.

The man I spoke to today said he wasn't even allowed to buy archery equipment, because the laws regarding only Olympic archers practicing archery means that common people aren't even allowed to purchase equipment. This becomes a Catch-22 in that would be Olympic archery athletes in the country often never even touch a bow before taking it up as Olympic athletes. They are basically complete beginners and know zero about the sport before taking it up as an "official athlete".

This level of ridiculousness has led to many Saudi Arabian Olympic hopefuls to be trained overseas in other countries because their own country is too restrictive for them to be able to practice,  get better at the sport, purchase equipment, or even find an archery coach. Archery coaches in Saudi Arabia are practically non existent.

Overall this level of restrictiveness means that Saudi Arabia has an extremely low number of practicing archers. Which explains why they have never won a major international contest. Not one.

If the country was actually serious about winning archery competitions then they should make archery completely legal, make the sport MANDATORY for everyone, and then everyone wouldbe doing it - and then their best of the best would end up representing their country in competitions. At present the current system is to put forth their "best of the few beginners who only vaguely know how to shoot". Which is just plain sad.

So shame on you Saudi Arabia. And shame on you for turning your back on the teachings of Muhammad. Any religious leader who encourages archery is okay in my book.

Note - For reference the Bible also says that men should know how to do archery and how to hunt with a bow and arrow. Failure to do so apparently implies that you are poor Christian. So shame on you, all you Christians who aren't practicing archery. What is wrong with you?!

Many other religions also endorse archery. In India archery is considered to be a holy activity, a gift from the gods, and practiced by many gods including Rama. In Buddhism archery is sometimes used in religious ceremonies to ward off evil. Some cultures believe that the twang of a bow string wards off demons. Basically regardless of what religion you are doing, you are encouraged to be doing archery.

And if you are not, what is wrong with you?!