Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Pledges Liberalization, Vows Return to ‘Moderate’ Islam
The heir to Saudi Arabia’s throne pledged a return to “moderate” Islam in a Tuesday speech heralded as a harbinger of moderate reforms.
In an address delivered to foreign investors at the Riyadh’s Future Investment Initiative conference, 23-year-old Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed to use the power of his position to “destroy extremism” in the conservative nation. Saudi Arabia is ruled by far-right Wahhabism, an ascetic form of Islam in which homosexuality is punishable by death.
“We want to live a normal life,” Mohammed said. “A life in which our religion translates to tolerance, to our traditions of kindness. … Seventy percent of the Saudi population is under 30, and honestly we will not spend the next 30 years of our lives dealing with destructive ideas.”
The young prince, who won the title over his brother earlier this year, pointed to the country’s extremist turn after 1979, a time of great upheaval in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. The year marked Iran’s Islamic Revolution, when the Pahlavi dynasty was overthrown in a revival of religious fundamentalism. The same year Shiite minorities would campaign to oust the ruling monarchy in Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi was not like this before 1979,” Mohammed said.
The prince’s pledge to deradicalize the Muslim nation is part of Vision 2030, a sweeping plan to modernize Saudi Arabia’s economy. The country hinted at these reforms in September by issuing a decree allowing women to drive, a policy that will be implemented in 2018. But the Persian Gulf state has a long way to go: Women must still receive the permission of a male relative to travel or to wed.
CNN also questions whether the Saudi Arabia is ready for reform. The news network claims that Mohammed’s speech “ignores opposition from those Saudis who are alarmed by even limited moves toward social liberalization.”
It also remains to be seen how pledges of liberalism will impact the local LGBTQ community, who were not explicitly mentioned in the Tuesday address.
Under Saudi Arabia’s application of Sharia law, being found guilty of same-sex relations is punishable by flogging, chemical castration, and life in prison. Two transgender Pakistanis were reportedly beaten, tortured, and killed after being arrested in Riyadh earlier this year. Eleven of those detained in the same sting operation were slapped with a $1,000 fine.
LGBTQ people may not have long to find out. The current king, Salman, is 82 and said to be in poor health. Mohammed is poised to ascend to the throne after his father’s passing.
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9 Comments
Canis VY Majoris
October 27, 08:05The question is. Will they let him?
But this Prince tho ?
Mandy
October 27, 08:40These Arabian princes are just so gorgeous ???
Mandy
October 27, 08:39This Prince is looking at an uphill battle. But if he pulls off even a fraction of what he’s proposing, it’d be huge.
Delle
October 27, 09:27He is 23!? Looks more like 32! But then, I can’t get enough of Arabian gorgeousness???
I pray what he is proposing comes to fruition. Would be a huge development.
Bryce
October 27, 11:03The reported age in the article is wrong. MBS is 31,heading on 32.You guessed right.
Black Dynasty
October 27, 09:49All I can say is good luck to him, having lived in the region for a few years…..it will take decades to achieve his proposal and he will have to be brutal to get it done unfortunately.
Mitch
October 27, 10:40I sure hope this works for him.
quinn
October 27, 20:42This seems like the wave of fresh ideas the worlds needs right now. Too many old and stubborn people in power who refused to be reasonable in the plight of their subjects. Plus I’m really hoping that the local LGBT community will be put into consideration, the times are changing for the better. Now we need our own set of fresh minds in this part of the world to take us to where we ought to be, I’m still going to admit it, the Prince Fine Sha?
Feminism, Homosexuality and Atheism Classified as Extremist Elements in Saudi Arabia – KitoDiaries
November 13, 08:47[…] to transform Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pushed for a more moderate form of Islam and promoted nationalist sentiment, loosening social restrictions and launching tourist visa, […]