The State of Saudi Reform
Haytham Mouzahem considers the status and struggles of the Saudi opposition and reform movements.
A few days ago, Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, warned of the Islamists who call for reform. This statement was understood as a criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood and as a response to Saudi reformist sheikh Salman al-Awda, who had denounced rights violations in the kingdom and called for reform and the release of political prisoners.
Al-Awda, a former figure in the Saudi “awakening movement” that is close to the Islamist thought of the Muslim Brotherhood, said last month that "his country is suffering political congestion caused by financial and administrative corruption, rampant unemployment and widespread poverty."
Al-Awda is one of many Sunnis in the country, Islamist and liberal, who have, since 2003, repeatedly called for political reform in the kingdom.
It seems that the Arab Spring has not threatened the stability of the Saudi regime, the world’s last absolute monarchy. Saudi authorities have responded with repressive measures against protesters who expressed criticism or opposition to the regime.
