Saudi King Shakes up religious establishment

[ChairmanAgnostic]

Source: Huffington Post

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The Saudi king on Saturday dismissed the chief of the religious police and a cleric who condoned killing the owners of TV networks that broadcast "immoral" content, signaling an effort to weaken the country's hard-line Sunni establishment.

The shake-up _ King Abdullah's first since coming to power in August 2005 _ included the appointment of a female deputy minister, the highest government position a Saudi woman has attained.

The king also changed the makeup of an influential body of religious scholars, for the first time giving more moderate Sunnis representation to the group whose duties include issuing the religious edicts known as fatwas.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090214/ml-saudi-politics/

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Wow, folks. This is huge. Seriously. A massive change here can mean a whole new approach to ME policies and politics.

And probably prevents a revolution within the House of saud. or at least for now.

Israeli-palestinian issues will be affected, as will Iranian-Saudi. This might even cause the re-appointment of Khatami in Iran, as a response.

I think we can also surmise that the Era of Bush/Cheney and their close fiendship with the Prince is over. They are gone, and the Prince is trying a different approach to his country.

[SharonAnn]

1. I'm glad to see the changes and hope that change continues.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I was wondering when this would happen

thought something was up when a Saudi royal attended the funeral of a Sufi teacher--Sufis and their practices are frowned upon by the Wahhabists, who made sure they destroyed Sufi shrines. The royal family must feel that the hold of the religious extremists on the population is weakening for them to be willing to make this showdown.

[Warpy]

3. The upper class Saudis now have two generations

of educated and very worldly women. I've met a few of them and they are fantastic. There is a very stark contrast between them and the elderly women who have few social skills and no knowledge of the outside world.

Most were educated in Europe and the US and know very well what they want to take from western culture and what they'd prefer to leave behind.

That the Saudis will slowly be dragged along into the future is no surprise to me. However, they will continue to look very repressed to outsiders.

[Cleita]

4. Hmm. If he's drinking reformation tea,

as a despot, he should be able to reform things pretty fast. Unless he's afraid of Oleander extract being served to him in his tea.

[grannie4peace]

5. do you think he saw how people love obama?

[iandhr]

6. Change in Saudi Arabia?

I will believe it when I see it

[Number23]

7. It's a start. I'll take it!

[Baby Snooks]

8. What people don't realize about Saudi Arabia...

The Saud family co-rules Saudi Arabia. So this may be accepted or rejected by the Wahabi clerics who according to some reports have taken more moderate stands in recent years after 9/11 although not in all matters and one of those matters regards "women's rights" which so far the clerics have been unwilling to change their position on. They always point to Iran and Iraq, and to a degree to Egypt, with regard to allowing a secular society. The Saud family has been walking a tightrope for many years with the clerics - apparently they decided to jump off and see where they land. What it really may depend on, if the clerics reject the changes, is who the military is loyal to.

[ohio2007]

9. dup thread ?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3739056#3739271

[No Elephants]

10. On Valentine's Day, only one response to

this news is appropriate.



The fundamental things apply,
As time goes by.

[JCMach1]

11. Ummm the Saudis I know make Emiratis look like Quakers

on the average...

So not a real shock... The young generation in KSA is light-years away from the face the kingdom presents to the world.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

12. So maybe women will be allowed to ride bikes and drive cars soon?

Let's hope...

[Alamuti Lotus]

13. Why would a revolution within the House of Saud be a bad thing?