Posted on 10/24/2017 8:10:15 AM PDT by mairdie
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia has revealed the country will return to moderate, open Islam.
Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also announced the kingdom would do more to tackle extremism today.
Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh he said: "We will not waste 30 years of our lives dealing with extremist ideas, we will destroy them today".
The conference, which runs until Thursday, aims to show how the country is opening itself up to the modern world and diversifying economically.
Prince bin Salman was appointed heir to the throne of Saudi Arabia by his father King Salman earlier this year.
The 32-year-old is seen as the face of the modern kingdom and is the driving force behind its long term economic plan to wean itself off dependence on oil by 2030.
Last month the ultra-conservative Kingdom issued an order lifting the 60-year ban on women driving.
The absolute monarchy was the only in the world where women weren't allowed legally to get behind a wheel but the ban is expected to be officially lifted by next summer.
Women in Saudi Arabia are also bound by law to wear a headscarf and require the consent of a male guardian for most legal actions.
Recently the country has been opening more areas for women through the government's modernising reforms.
But they have sparked tensions with influential clerics upon whose support the ruling family relies.
Saudi Arabia is governed under a puritanical form of Sunni Islam known as Wahabism.
Extremist versions of Wahabism have been adopted by jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda and Isis and the kingdom has long been accused of not doing enough to tackle extremism.
Prince bin Salman was appointed heir to the throne earlier this year
(Excerpt) Read more at mirror.co.uk ...
Dubai, HK, and Singapore are also world-class, business friendly free trade zones, as well as financial centers.
The Saudis definitely need the kind of business policies that have been so successful in Dubai. As it is, if you do business in the region, you almost have to do it from Dubai, because the advantages are so overwhelming.
If you want to open a business in Dubai, you can get incorporated same day, and the Government will drive you around to get everything you need, like a butler. They have offices and warehouses sitting empty, ready for occupancy, furnished, with dial tone on the phones and internet connected - favorable tax treatment, and reliable business dispute resolution in the courts - hard to beat.
Apparently, Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Saudi Arabia is a keen student of Sheik Mo in Dubai - a regular protege. There are some diversification options just over the Saudi borders that could be leveraged, but the business practices of the UAE with Dubai is without doubt the crown jewel.
Time will tell. If they stop funding terrorist clerics then things could get much better.
Good insights. The business climate you describe in Dubai is also a pretty good description of HK and Singapore, I believe.
It is a long road from a closed, monarchic, almost totalitarian society to the free society that lets Dubai and others prosper. Given their lack of natural resources and talent plus the huge drag of Islam, it’s going to be especially hard for them to modernize.
“if they are sincere about it.”
They have already imprisoned some high profile proponents of the more extreme views - guys with millions of followers.
Letting women drive is more than just superficial. It has special status in Saudi Arabia as a political litmus test of which side you are on, like abortion here.
So far, the new guy is moving much more strongly and convincingly than we have seen before from the Saudis, but their record is so bad that a lot of convincing will be needed. And he could well end up being reversed in a counter-reformation or coup. But there is strong indication that real change is afoot. Time will tell.
An examination of the history of Islam shows numerous instances of more tolerant leaders achieving power that results in a somewhat more humane society. Such tolerance can last for a few generations before the crazies eventually reassert themselves.
They still desperately need to be completely Blown to Hell.
Once the radiation subsides, and the stragglers neutralized, there are thousands and thousands of miles of great beaches. Resorts and universities should be encouraged to spring up, the dune-buggy and desert racing industries could proliferate...the Jews could come in and "make the desert bloom".
It could become the Las Vegas of the Middle East.
This is actually a very significant change in Saudi policy. It will bear positive fruit.
You are right.
Agree!
Now he’s got a big bullseye on himself, I wish him luck & success!
The current US administration is quite different from previous administrations. President Trump kisses no one’s posterior.
You’re right.
Very insightful post.
Yes, the huge craters where they once stood would be an incredible testimony to the unthinkable horror that once plagued the world....sort of like the museums that were the Nazi death camps.
>>President Trump kisses no one’s posterior
I keep remembering his magnificent reception on his mideast, and think these people really want him on their side. Really disappointed in the downgrading of his trip to England.
??Such tolerance can last for a few generations before the crazies eventually reassert themselves.
True. But it slows down entropy, which is a good thing. Putting up no resistance to the extremists would be like backing down here and saying that because the progressives will always come back, er dhoulf turn everything over to them and go home and knit sweaters for caterpillars.
Should never type while eating.
>>Such tolerance
...we should turn everything...
But will they stop funding mosque building across the world, especially in the US and throughout Europe? Too many terrorist speaking Imams already out there.
I’d assume that they’d continue to fund mosques as their missionary projects, much as this country encourages missionaries. But that they would try to have more control over what doctrine is being spread. Though I would doubt the reply from the missionaries would be more than lip service and their sermons would still be more extreme than the government would prefer.
My friends in MENA are ecstatic with Trump. They loathed his predecessor.
After sponsoring it and exporting it for...how many years?
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