And "Muzzies" wonder why we think they all look alike.
This, though, may be what the opening and closing ceremonies, and every event in-between, of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad look like if Saudi Arabia and Bahrain win their 2020 hosting bid. That, and they won't be co-ed:
Saudi Arabia has proposed holding a gender-segregated Olympic Games.
In comments made by Prince Fahad bin Jalawi al-Saud – a consultant to the Saudi Olympic Committee – it was suggested the country could bid jointly with Bahrain, which could host the women’s events.
“Our society can be very conservative. It has a hard time accepting that women can compete in sports,” the Prince told French website Francs Jeux.
“Wearing sports clothing in public is not really allowed. For these cultural reasons, it is difficult to bid for certain big international events.”
In recommendations for reform, published last November, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) opened the door to joint bids in 2020.
But it moved to quickly shoot down Saudi Arabia’s suggestion.
IOC President Thomas Bach released a statement explaining that Saudi Arabia would be denied the chance to bid, unless it complied with rules barring discrimination.
On the one hand, good for the IOC, and I am frankly surprised that they didn't even hesitate to reject the Saudis' demand for Olympic gender-segregation. Furthermore, I'm more than a little shocked that they were even willing to entertain the notion of a women's competition at all.
On the other hand, there's still - what? a year and a half? - for the Muslim world to jump up and down on the Western political correctness manipulation levers to wear down the IOC into capitulating to the Saudis and Bahrainis' demands. Because, after all, it would be "Islamophobic" to not give them an Olympiad, and not fully comply with all Muslim cultural customs in the process. Even the "evening prayer" event.
Exit question: Just exactly how are the women's events going to work with all the competitors in burqas? Won't the speed- and synchronized-swimmers drown? Wouldn't the sprinters trip and fall on their faces? And wouldn't the divers and hurdlers and high-jumpers be flashing the crowd with every flip and step? I"m not sure Prince Fahad has thought this notion through sufficiently.
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