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The State of Saudi Reform

Haytham Mouzahem considers the status and struggles of the Saudi opposition and reform movements.
A protester holds up a picture of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a rally at the coastal town of Qatif, against Sheikh Nimr's arrest July 8, 2012. Sheikh Nimr, a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric who was wanted by the police, was detained in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province on Sunday over calls for more rights for the minority Muslim sect in the Sunni monarchy, his brother and an activist said. REUTERS/Stringer (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST RELIGION POLITICS) - RTR34QU6

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."

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