Saudi Arabia has lately been continuing to make rapid changes with a number of social, cultural, economic and even religious breakthroughs.
By
Musthafa Abd Rahman
·5 minutes read
AFP PHOTO/REEM BAESHEN
This file photo taken on September 27, 2017 shows Saudi woman driving her car along a street in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, on September 27, 2017. With many carrots and some sticks, ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia seeks to tackle entrenched male attitudes towards women drivers before millions take the wheel, many for the first time, on June 2018.
Saudi Arabia has lately been continuing to make rapid changes with a number of social, cultural, economic and even religious breakthroughs, which has caused the eyes of the international community to widen. The state, which was founded by Ibn Saud in 1932 and embraced the ultraconservative Wahhabi ideology, now seems to beheading in the opposite direction from the state ideology, which has been inherent since its establishment.
The world was recently surprised when Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on Sept. 26 issued a decree that allowed women in the country to drive vehicles. Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world that still prohibited women from driving.
A month later, on Oct. 24, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also caused surprise by announcing the NEOM megacity project in the northwestern region of Saudi Arabia, adjacent to the Egyptian and Jordanian borders. Certainly not a half-hearted project, NEOM occupies an area of 26,500 square kilometers with the incredible investment value of US$500 billion.
NEOM is designed to implement a social, cultural and economic system that is independent from the rest of Saudi Arabia, just like the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Only several days after NEOM’s announcement, on Oct. 29, the Saudi Arabian authorities announced it would allow women to watch live sports matches at stadiums starting next year.
This is the 2030 economic vision, which was introduced and established by Prince Mohammed, 32, in April 2016 as a blueprint to be free from dependence on income from oil, which marks a turning point for the major breakthrough movement currently in Saudi Arabia. In other words, the various major breakthroughs are part of a series of concrete action programs of the 2030 vision.
Moderate Islam
When announcing the NEOM megacity project, Prince Mohammed promised, surprisingly, to return Saudi Arabia to a moderate Islam that is open to the world. This affirmation is actually the start of Saudi Arabia’s new ideology in the era of the 2030 vision.
AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE
Saudi women arrive to watch Saudi short movies during the "Short Film Competition 2" festival on October 20, 2017, at King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh. The rare movie night this week in Riyadh was a precursor to what is expected to be a formal lifting of the kingdom\'s ban on cinemas, long vilified as vulgar and sinful by religious hardliners.
Prince Mohammed\'s promise of a moderate Islam can be seen as the second most important statement after the declaration of the 2030 vision. The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince is well aware of how important an appropriate and modern ideological foundation is for the success of the megaproject in his country. He understands very well that the old ideology adopted by his country is no longer relevant in the era of the 2030 vision.
Former US ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said in his article in Asharq al Awsat daily newspaper on Oct. 8, 2016, that Saudi Arabia was trying to free itself from the shackles of conservative ideology to undertake a reform movement, which is led by Prince Mohammed.Without this step, it would be almost impossible for the reform movement in the country to succeed.
Many observers also said Prince Mohammed is now opening a new page in the history of his country’s ideology, while closing the old page in its ideological history. Indeed, Saudi officials and scholars have thus far not mentioned Wahhabi ideology in the discourse about the 2030 vision.
The Saudi Arabian constitution has, up to now, been known to have been inspired by Wahhabi ideology, which is part of the teachings of Imam Hambali. However, according to Saudi Arabian academic, Khalid al-Dakhil, in a number of his articles in Al Hayat daily, Wahhabi ideology can be evaluated in line with the demands of the time.
According to Al-Dakhil, the Wahhabi ideology currently adopted by Saudi Arabia is only relevant to the pre-era and the establishment of Saudi Arabia in 1932 and the era of efforts to strengthen the country (Al Hayat, Feb. 21, 2016).He mentioned that Wahhabi ideology had the power to unite religious and political understanding or carry a religious and political mission.
Wahhabi ideology, Al-Dakhil further said, contributed greatly to uniting the territory of Saudi Arabia we know today, which was originally fragmented and plagued by conflicts among the regions of Hejaz (west), Najd (center), Al-Ahsa (east), and Asir (south). One weakness of Wahhabi ideology is that its followers are quick to accuse other people or cultures of being infidels. In other words, Wahhabi ideology tends to be closed.
That is why Saudi Arabia is now relatively lagging behind other Arab Gulf countries, such as Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Therefore, it can be said Prince Mohammed’s statement that his country will adopt moderate Islam and be open to the world constitutes an evaluation of Wahhabi ideology.
AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE
This file photo taken on September 28, 2017 shows Saudi women waiting for their drivers outside a hotel in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on September 28, 2017. With many carrots and some sticks, ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia seeks to tackle entrenched male attitudes towards women drivers before millions take the wheel, many for the first time, on June 2018.
Of course, enormous challenges are faced by Prince Mohammed to steer the country through the transition period from the old Wahhabi to the new Wahhabi ideology. He realizes there will be much resistance from conservative ulamas who still oppose the modernization project or the 2030 vision.
In mid-September, he ordered the arrest of tens of Saudi Arabian ulamas and scholars who were considered to oppose the government, such as Sheikh Salmanal-Ouda, Sheikh Aid al-Qarni, Alial-Omari, Farhan al-Maliki and Mustafa Hassan.
If the vision of Prince Mohammed with his new Wahhabi ideology, which is more friendly, can be realized and firmly implanted, the face of Saudi Arabia will totally change in the future, especially socially, culturally and economically. Now it is just a matter of waiting for Prince Mohammed to overcome the obstacles, both from the powerful ruling family of Al-Saud and the conservative groups.
Saudi Press Agency via AP
In this Sept. 23, 2017 file photo released by Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Saudi men and women attend national day ceremonies at the King Fahd stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Women will be allowed into sports stadiums as of next year, the kingdom\'s latest step toward easing rules on gender segregation -- but they will only be allowed to sit in the so-called family section.
