CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VIII (1) ContemporaryEurasia81 | Page 40

SAUDI ARABIA ON THE ROAD TO MODERNIZATION: REALITY OR MYTH?
armed forces used the territory of Saudi Arabia to prevent Iraq’s aggression
against Kuwait.
Starting from the 1980s, the royal family in Saudi Arabia further
tightened control over internal dissident movements that were formed on
religious grounds, and which have existed since the inception of the
Kingdom. The royal family has fought and in some cases cooperated with
members of the same Ikhwan, or Sahwa, as well as the Islamic movements.
After the Islamic revolution in Iran, Saudi Arabia further intensified
the Islamic vector of its foreign policy, which most likely had an objective of
not only strengthening Saudi Arabia’s position in the outside world, but also
to take the conservative and radical sources out of the country’s borders. The
proof of this is Saudi Arabia’s active intervention in the war that began after
the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. With the
help of the Wahhabi ulama, Saudi Arabia declared Jihad against the infidel
Soviet forces, and acted in that country with assistance by military groups
that were inspired by Wahhabism.
It should be taken into consideration that Mohammed bin Salman was
quite right when he was saying that the Islamic revolution in Iran changed
the situation in the region by forming a new religious agenda. However,
MBS’ remarks stating that Saudi Arabia was more open as a society and
state, do not sound so valid.
Human rights under Mohammed bin Salman
Returning to Mohammed bin Salman’s plans for Saudi Arabia’s
modernization and reforms, it should be noted that the most important
precondition that would inspire confidence toward this process should have
been the drastic and radical changes in the domain of human rights,
surmounting the climate of fear and terror, and formation of free speech.
According to human rights groups, arrests of human rights activists have
risen under Mohammed bin Salman. 18 The situation in the Kingdom has
grown even worse in terms of free speech. According to media publications
Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly created the Tiger Squad (Firqat аl-
Nemr), a team of assassins that act as a death squad, to target Saudi critics
inside and outside Saudi Arabia. 19
18
“Rights groups condemn Saudi arrests as crackdown on dissent,” Reuters, September 15,
2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-arrests/rights-groups-condemn-saudi-arrests-
as-crackdown-on-dissent-idUSKCN1BQ1RR (accessed April 3, 2019).
19
Mustafa Abu Sneineh, “The Saudi death squad MBS uses to silence dissent,” Middle East
Eye, October 22, 2018, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/revealed-saudi-death-squad-
mbs-uses-silence-dissent (accessed April 6, 2019).
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