Contemporary Islam in Saudi Arabia As keepers of the holy cites of Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia plays an important role in Islam. Islam is the basis of Saudi Arabia's national identity, society, law, and politics. This becomes apparent simply by looking at the Saudi flag, which combines the Muslim confession of faith ("There is no god but God and Mohammed is His Prophet") and the crossed swords of the House of Saud that reflect …showed first 75 words of 876 total…

…showed last 75 words of 876 total…religion, it is a way of life. Islamic extremists view Saudi Arabia's modernization program as a threat to Islam itself and to Saudi Arabia's image as an Islamic state. Although the House of Saud and the ulama are working together to maintain its Islamic state and modernize itself to keep up with the rest of the world, there continues to be critics who are inept to accepting the combination of an Islamic state and modernization.