Fawzan, you may have guessed, did not approve. But even though he seemed appalled by the idea of selfies with cats and pronounced them “prohibited,” it’s worth noting that he didn’t seem to have anything personal against felines. “The cats don’t matter here,” he said. “Taking pictures is prohibited if not for a necessity, not with cats, not with dogs, not with wolves, not with anything.”

Saudi Arabia’s strict brand of Islam certainly outlaws many practices that are common outside its borders. But a total ban on photography is a fairly fringe view held by some hard-line clerics, who believe it violates tenets against depicting human or animal images. The official Saudi Press Agency runs photos, and ordinary Saudis take pictures and selfies as much as the rest of us — including while making the pilgrimage to Mecca (which does not sit well with some clerics).