After 5 years of Mohammed bin Salman crown prince in Saudi Arabia, this country has undergone significant changes in various political, economic, religious, etc. dimensions, and many believe that the Saudis have an uncertain future.
According to the international group of Pak Sahafat news agency, Mohammed bin Salman assumed the position of crown prince on June 11, 2017 and succeeded “Mohammed bin Nayef Al Saud” and thus became one of the most important decision makers in Saudi Arabia. Since then, Saudi Arabia has witnessed many developments at different religious and economic levels, as well as in the details of the internal relations of the Saudi ruling family.
In recent years, Bin Salman has tried to pave the way to the throne by pursuing an “open” policy in Saudi Arabian society through means that were not common in the country before. In the last five years, Saudi Arabia has witnessed qualitative changes in society, as Saudi citizens were allowed to open cinemas and hold concerts. The country attracted artists from around the world who held concerts in the country for the first time, aiming to attract local audiences and young people to prepare for the change that Bin Salman sought. Women were also given permission to engage in new activities that were previously prohibited.
Social changes in Saudi Arabia went beyond customary restrictions, which went as far as allowing mixed parties and festivals to be hosted; Events that provoked debates inside and outside Saudi Arabia about the purpose of these changes.
Historically, the Saudi government has been built on three main pillars: Wahhabism, tribalism and oil. Analysts believe that Mohammed bin Salman’s policies eventually led to the displacement of the three bases that represented the historical pillars of the government.
Marginalization of religious movements by bin Salman appeared with many measures, including limiting the role of the Committee for Good and Prohibition of Evil, which was a religious police system in the country.
The Saudi crown prince announced in his controversial interview with the American magazine “Atlantic” that Saudi Arabia is making progress and is gradually abandoning its decades-old religious approach. Bin Salman referred to the role of Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab as a person who was involved in the establishment of Saudi Arabia and described him as “just a preacher”.
Analysts believe that the confrontation that bin Salman started with the religious movement was not based on the movement of the “modernity” train, nor was he concerned about the religious movement that issued its desired fatwas to Al Saud; Rather, it has sought to create a suitable social context for normalization with the Israeli regime in order to satisfy the Americans.
Encouraging the normalization of relations with the Israeli regime
When signs of apparent normalization between the UAE and the Zionist regime began in early 2019, and then the signing of the normalization within the framework of the so-called “Ibrahim” agreements, the Zionist media revealed many of the close relations of Israeli officials with Saudi businessmen and officials.
Mohammed bin Salman created a more transparent discourse regarding Saudi Arabia’s position towards Palestine. This was evident in Saudi Arabia’s official statements during the years of former US President Donald Trump’s rule and the deal of the century; An action that, on the one hand, distanced the distance between the people of the region and the Saudi regime, and on the other hand, placed Saudi Arabia in the group of hidden compromise countries.
This accelerated path towards normalization was accompanied by Saudi Arabia’s clear retreat in supporting the cause of Palestine and the Palestinians, as well as in criticizing their resistance and even arresting its prominent members, especially “Mohammed Al-Khizri” (Hamas’ representative in Saudi Arabia).
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is currently in Saudi Arabia and is trying to strengthen the process of normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime.
The Biden government emphasizes that it is trying to expand the so-called “Abraham” agreements, which led some Arab countries to normalize relations with the Zionist regime during the presidency of “Donald Trump”.
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The collapse of the Saudi dynasty and the division in the region
Observers believe that it is possible that Muhammad bin Salman, due to the policy he has adopted in contrast to his predecessors at the domestic and foreign levels, will hasten the end of the reign of the ruling family and overthrow its throne that lasted for nearly 100 years. He destroyed any possible bond in the House of Saud, which mainly stems from internal disputes, but the current crown prince turned it into a possible wave of coups, revolutions, etc.
In recent years, Muhammad bin Salman arrested his uncle Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, his cousin Muhammad bin Nayef and other princes, including Saud bin Nayef and his son Abdulaziz, on charges of conspiracy against him, which provoked discussions in this regard. The future of stability in Saudi Arabia and the fate of the Saudi government, considering the arrest of the senior princes of the royal family, is a new sign of the tightening of Bin Salman’s control over power in this country, which shows that the ruling family is witnessing a dangerous gap in its existence.
On a broader level, the divisions reached the entire Persian Gulf region, including the blockade of Qatar in June 2017. This was the worst crisis since the establishment of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981, when Mohammed bin Salman was widely criticized.
Yemen war
Since 2015, when King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and his son Mohammed bin Salman became Minister of Defense, Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition against Yemen, the poorest Arab country, under the pretext of returning President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. May the resigned and fugitive republic of this country fulfill its political goals and ambitions with power.
Organizations affiliated to the United Nations, including the World Health Organization and UNICEF, have repeatedly warned that due to the continued attacks of the aggressors on Yemen, the people of this country are facing a famine and a humanitarian disaster that is unprecedented in the last century.
Last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross published a report on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, and Bashir Omar, the author of the report, described it as an “unimaginable horror”. Two-thirds of Yemen’s estimated population of 30.5 million people lack access to basic medical services and more than four million others have been displaced due to conflicts.
Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi
In October 2018, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the country, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and a serious diplomatic crisis was created. The crown prince denied issuing the order to assassinate Khashoggi from the side of Riyadh.
According to a report published by the New York Times, Mohammed bin Salman had created a secret security campaign to suppress the opposition a year before Khashoggi’s murder, and some American officials stated that this campaign included surveillance, kidnapping, arrest and torture of Saudis.
Increasing corruption and widespread repression
Arrests of writers, journalists, economists, scientists and human rights activists have increased in Saudi Arabia. According to Saud al-Qahtani, Bin Salman’s adviser, this includes men and women without discrimination. In addition to unfair trials, illegal killings, indirect killings through neglecting the health of prisoners, severe torture and mass executions, which are also numerous.
Amnesty International recently considered the era of Mohammed bin Salman as the darkest period in Saudi Arabia in terms of human rights and freedoms since he became the crown prince.
This organization announced: Since Mohammed bin Salman’s accession to the crown in 2015, the country has witnessed a massive crackdown on freedom of expression that has targeted the human rights community and a wide range of people who have voiced their opposition or criticism in any way.
At the economic level, taxes were imposed, salaries were reduced, public service costs were increased, and huge sums disappeared from the government’s coffers; This situation caused the frustration of the people, the people whose mobility is hindered by the grip of the security forces.