CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VIII (1) ContemporaryEurasia81 | Page 42

SAUDI ARABIA ON THE ROAD TO MODERNIZATION: REALITY OR MYTH?
Sheikh Muhammad al-Issa, the new head of the Muslim World League,
reflect a relative liberality in the interpretation of Islam. 25
In the meantime, human rights defenders continue demanding to
review several cruel Shari’a punishments that are envisaged for infringing
upon God’s rights. There is a public demand in the country to set a minimum
age of marriage, prohibit polygamy, dissolve religious police in general,
etc. 26
A shadow was cast on Mohammed bin Salman’s reforms’ process by
Saudi dissident writer and publicist Jamal Khashoggi’s shameful murder in
2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Central Intelligence Agency has
concluded that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the
killing of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. The C.I.A. made the assessment
based on the crown prince’s control of Saudi Arabia, which is such that the
killing would not have taken place without his approval. 27
In the meantime, the topic is taboo in the Kingdom where restricted
speech, climate of terror and fear, and a ban on criticizing the royal family is
in effect. According to separate viewpoints, to maintain its international
standing, Saudi Arabia should have renounced MBS and the prospect for his
becoming King. Madawi al-Rasheed, one of the best-known dissident
academics of the Saudi diaspora and who is the author of numerous works
on the history of Saudi Arabia, noted that the ruling Saudi elite should find a
solution to removing MBS, since some of Ibn Saud’s sons, such as Prince
Ahmed (who is King Salman’s brother), who are eligible to become the
successor, are alive. 28
The assassination of Khashoggi was a huge blow not only to Riyadh’s
standing, but also to the crown prince’s aspirations to become the King of
Saudi Arabia, while he is represented as an architect of reforms in the social
and political domains of Saudi Arabia. Madawi al-Rasheed, a Saudi author,
25
John Irish, “Wiping out extremist ideology is my mission: head of Saudi-based Muslim
body,” Reuters, November 24, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-islam/wiping-
out-extremist-ideology-is-my-mission-head-of-saudi-based-muslim-body-idUSKBN1DO1JV
accessed (April 5, 2019).
26
“Saudi Arabia advisory body aims to end child marriage, setting minimum age limit of 15,
but loopholes remain,” South China Morning Post, January 11, 2019,
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/2181608/saudi-arabia-advisory-body-
aims-end-child-marriage-setting (accessed April 3, 2019).
27
“C.I.A. Concludes That Saudi Crown prince Ordered Khashoggi Killed,” The New York
Times, November 16, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/us/politics/cia-saudi-
crown-prince-khashoggi.html (accessed April 8, 2019).
28
Why King Salman Must Replace M.B.S.,
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/opinion/saudi-arabia-jamal-khashoggi-crown-prince-
murder-King-salman-must-replace-mbs-stability.html (accessed March 27, 2019).
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