Saudi crown prince pledges to restore ‘moderate Islam’
25 replies, posted
[URL="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/saudi-crown-prince-pledges-to-restore-moderate-islam/"]https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/saudi-crown-prince-pledges-to-restore-moderate-islam/[/URL]
Short article so I'll post the whole thing
[QUOTE]RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday vows to restore “moderate, open” Islam in a kingdom known for its ultra-conservative rule.
“We are returning to what we were before — a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world,” he says at an economic forum in Riyadh.
“We will not spend the next 30 years of our lives dealing with destructive ideas. We will destroy them today,” he adds. “We will end extremism very soon.”
The crown prince’s statement is the most direct attack by a top official on the Gulf country’s influential conservative religious establishment.
Since his sudden appointment on June 21, Prince Mohammed has pushed ahead with reforms. He is widely regarded as the force behind King Salman’s decision last month to lift a longstanding ban on women driving.[/QUOTE]
This is such great news. A lot of extremist views from the west are being pumped in by Saudi's (the amount of money that's sent over from Saudi Arabia to build mosques and open book stores is striking) so this should do a lot to calm things down.
This guy seems like he knows whats up, he's done good so far.
how much power does this guy have? because if he can actually do something then thats pretty rad
[QUOTE=WrathOfCat;52815904]how much power does this guy have? because if he can actually do something then thats pretty rad[/QUOTE]
It's difficult to say. The inner workings of the Saudi family are hard to decipher from the outside.
(In this case), unfortunately there is a precedent for not following the laid out succession or changing it in Saudi Arabia so there is a good chance someone with enough power could brush him aside.
If he can pull it off, hats off to him.
If he is genuine, then seriously, props to that guy. That's a fantastic step in the right direction.
With that said, we should all remember that even if he is successful, it'll take years, likely [I]decades[/I], before extremism is completely eradicated. And even then, there'll probably be a minority who will cling unto the "old ways".
The royal family actually has some pretty awesome people who would be considered progressive even in the west.
Also this guy is fucking huge.
[t] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Vladimir_Putin_and_Mohammad_bin_Salman_Al_Saud_3.jpg [/t]
[QUOTE=GrizzlyBear;52815991]The royal family actually has some pretty awesome people who would be considered progressive even in the west.
Also this guy is fucking huge.
[t] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Vladimir_Putin_and_Mohammad_bin_Salman_Al_Saud_3.jpg [/t][/QUOTE]
Huge? Putin's manlet, guy is average
[QUOTE=GrizzlyBear;52815991]The royal family actually has some pretty awesome people who would be considered progressive even in the west.
Also this guy is fucking huge.
[t] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Vladimir_Putin_and_Mohammad_bin_Salman_Al_Saud_3.jpg [/t][/QUOTE]
Or Putin is just 1,7m
[IMG]http://puu.sh/y635K/3a08323d72.PNG[/IMG]
I hope that he is able to do it. No matter what my opinion is of the country, if he seriously tries then he has my admiration
[QUOTE=Dim;52816020]Or Putin is just 1,7m
[IMG]http://puu.sh/y635K/3a08323d72.PNG[/IMG][/QUOTE]
this is a banned image in russia
[QUOTE=Dim;52816020]Or Putin is just 1,7m
[IMG]http://puu.sh/y635K/3a08323d72.PNG[/IMG][/QUOTE]
Okay wow Putin is tiny as hell. My bad.
While trying to promote a more moderate religious outlook within Saudi Arabia would be fantastic, I think that zealotry is an inextricable byproduct of theocratic monarchies. Strict religious rule breeds strict religious application. So long as the crown and the church are effectively the same entity, it will be quite difficult to translate good intent into positive and lasting change on a timeline quickly enough to see it realized while the progressive prince holds power. I'm obviously no expert on Saudi Arabian politics, but I can't help but be skeptical. I think that religion as a personal choice can be a beautiful thing, but religious [I]rule[/I] breeds conditions ripe for zealotry and oppression.
Monarchies can kind of work out sometimes if you get really lucky, it seems.
Just a reminder that the Saudi Royal family is being incredibly pressured right now to reform because their oil empire is slowly dying. Nobody is going to want to invest in a country with lots of human rights abuses.
It also helps that the crown prince seems to actually be a real moderate.
[QUOTE=Spetsnaz95;52815958]If he is genuine, then seriously, props to that guy. That's a fantastic step in the right direction.
With that said, we should all remember that even if he is successful, it'll take years, likely [I]decades[/I], before extremism is completely eradicated. And even then, there'll probably be a minority who will cling unto the "old ways".[/QUOTE]
The "old ways" started in 1979 after a bunch of Salafists captured the Grand Mosque in Mecca and held worshippers there hostage because they felt that Saudi Arabia was becoming too religiously liberal. In order to prevent this from happening again, the Saudis became much more religiously conservative. Before that, the KSA was fairly liberal for a middle eastern country.
wishing them best luck in trying, let's hope nobody kills him before he can set the country on less radical course
the whole world is moving forward while america takes a death roll into the 1800s
[QUOTE=WrathOfCat;52815904]how much power does this guy have? because if he can actually do something then thats pretty rad[/QUOTE]
the question is how will the state and churches react? he has all the power required but will their society go along is another question, you can't just go rewriting things, especially religious matters, without major pushback
Just want to point it out there that this is the same guy who is the Chief of Defense in the KSA, along with many other titles, and the main perpetrator in continuing, if not escalating, the war in Yemen and escalating tensions on the Qatari-Saudi Border. The guy is very ambitious and would be the first monarch not the Son of Ibn Saud, ushering in an entire new generation of Saudi Royalty. Personally I don't trust the guy, and his talks of moderate Islam don't hold much weight when he's overseen the bombing of Shia's in Yemen and the overall increase of the Saudi Military.
For a little bit more on how influential he is in the Saudi government I suggest checking out this video and other's like it about "Mr. Everything"
[video=youtube;sLK7mLp02EE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLK7mLp02EE[/video]
[QUOTE=Native Hunter;52817168]Just want to point it out there that this is the same guy who is the Chief of Defense in the KSA, along with many other titles, and the main perpetrator in continuing, if not escalating, the war in Yemen and escalating tensions on the Qatari-Saudi Border. The guy is very ambitious and would be the first monarch not the Son of Ibn Saud, ushering in an entire new generation of Saudi Royalty. Personally I don't trust the guy, and his talks of moderate Islam don't hold much weight when he's overseen the bombing of Shia's in Yemen and the overall increase of the Saudi Military.
For a little bit more on how influential he is in the Saudi government I suggest checking out this video and other's like it about "Mr. Everything"
[video=youtube;sLK7mLp02EE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLK7mLp02EE[/video][/QUOTE]
That'd probably explain why the UK is so supportive of the war in yemen
He's also behind the unbanning of female driving, however, so it's not like he hasn't shown precedent.
Good! We need moderate thought to prevail in the Middle East. Now if only we could get people to chill out over here.
[QUOTE=Native Hunter;52817168]Just want to point it out there that this is the same guy who is the Chief of Defense in the KSA, along with many other titles, and the main perpetrator in continuing, if not escalating, the war in Yemen and escalating tensions on the Qatari-Saudi Border. The guy is very ambitious and would be the first monarch not the Son of Ibn Saud, ushering in an entire new generation of Saudi Royalty. Personally I don't trust the guy, and his talks of moderate Islam don't hold much weight when he's overseen the bombing of Shia's in Yemen and the overall increase of the Saudi Military.
For a little bit more on how influential he is in the Saudi government I suggest checking out this video and other's like it about "Mr. Everything"
[video=youtube;sLK7mLp02EE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLK7mLp02EE[/video][/QUOTE]
moderate islam and trying to curtail Iranian aggression have nothing to do with each other
[QUOTE=Svinnik;52820327]moderate islam and trying to curtail Iranian aggression have nothing to do with each other[/QUOTE]
I don't think bombing civilians is really a good way to curtail Iranian aggression, not to mention supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in said conflict. So uh excuse me for not trusting the Crown-Prince on his word of promoting moderate Islam. But who knows, I could be wrong, but at present he seems like the overly ambitious type of person who is willing to make bold promises to bring in international support.
He could just be being pragmatic but if the end result is a positive I see no reason to complain.
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