Last week, Politico magazine published an article describing a conversation between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and several members of the American Congress. The main point of the conversation was MBS’s statement that he was risking his life in an effort to normalize relations with Israel. However, in fact, the Crown Prince has long had a considerable number of enemies who want him dead for the enormous changes he is making in his country. Today we will talk about one of the most influential people in the Middle East and the world, who receives much less public attention than he deserves.
The Saudi royal has mentioned to members of Congress that he’s putting his life in danger by pursuing a grand bargain with the U.S. and Israel that includes normalizing Saudi-Israeli ties. On at least one occasion, he has invoked Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian leader slain after striking a peace deal with Israel, asking what the U.S. did to protect Sadat. He also has discussed the threats he faces in explaining why any such deal must include a true path to a Palestinian state — especially now that the war in Gaza has heightened Arab fury toward Israel.
Politico.
Saudi Arabia is a country that has been ruled by Sharia law since its foundation, with a ban on women driving, stoning cheaters, chopping off thieves’ hands and other “charms” like the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Restraint from Vice. In general, in terms of domestic politics, the situation in Saudi Arabia 20 years ago was not much different from what exists in modern Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban. In Saudi Arabia, absolute theocracy reigned without the slightest hint of any private freedoms and rights.
However, in 2015, MBS came to power (de facto, de jure, he has been crown prince under his father since 2017) and began large-scale reforms aimed at moving Saudi Arabia away from such a serious influence of religion. MBS removed Wahhabi imams (Sharia adherents) from power, shut down the Saudi religious police and literally rewrote the country’s history, creating a Saudi nationality to the detriment of its religiosity. It got to the point that recently MBS seriously considered changing the anthem and the flag of the country, replacing religious elements with Saudi identity.
In today’s Saudi Arabia, women can not only drive, but also travel abroad on their own, and the country’s parliament consists of 20% women, although 10 years ago there was not one in it. Among other things, music festivals have begun to take place in the country, where world-famous DJs, including women, perform. Saudi athletes star in Nike advertisements, as well as in promos to promote the World Cup in the country along with Lionel Messi. To say that such things were unimaginable a quarter of a century ago, I think, is not necessary.
The once completely closed country, which hosted guests mainly as part of the Hajj (a mandatory pilgrimage to Mecca for Muslims), is now the leader in terms of tourism growth among the G20 countries, and the number of tourists visiting the country has doubled since 2018. MBS is opening up his country to the world, building mind-blowing projects with billions of dollars in budgets, gradually allowing the sale of alcohol to tourists (in a country with Sharia law!), as well as restructuring local legislation to accommodate the brewing flow of non-Muslim tourists.
It is obvious that any of the changes described above could alone cause huge dissatisfaction with the policy of the MBS, and together they already represent a full-fledged base for revolutionary sentiments among opposition figures. Therefore, the MBS has created the so-called “Tiger” detachment or the Saudi Arabia rapid reaction force, which reports directly to him and ensures his “safety”. In fact, this special unit was created to carry out a secret struggle (liquidation) with Saudi oppositionists and opponents of the prince not only in the country, but also abroad.
Therefore, even without taking into account such a controversial idea as the normalization of relations with Israel, the fundamental changes that Mohammed bin Salman is carrying out in the country today, as well as the way he does it, create for him countless enemies thirsting for his blood. However, it is impossible to gain the title of the main reformer of the Middle East without drawing a huge target on your back.
We also recommend reading:
Mohamad Ali El Husseini — OPEN LETTER,
Arab Public Opinion on the Israeli War on the Gaza Strip,
Roya Heshmati: Defying the Hijab Dress Code in Iran,
A possible alternative path,
Herta Muller — OPEN LETTER
This post was last modified on August 21, 2024 08:42
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The mere fact that the author uses the words Sharia and law together shows that he/she knows nothing about Islam. The word Sharia means LAW..so essentially saying Saudi Arabia practices law law..yes you read right,law twice. Furthmore the history of how the Saudis came to be isn't mentioned,nor the country of Suadi Arabia. A better understanding of involvement of Britain in bringing the Saudis to power will easily show that the author is biased. Nice try.