The continued strength of the religious right can be seen in the recent flogging of a blogger and the public beheading of a woman for murder. This is not the Saudi Arabia that coalition partners wish to support in the fight against the so-called Islamic State; and it draws attention to the fact that the beliefs and practices of the Islamic State arise from a very similar educational and cultural background to those of Saudi Arabia. It may worry the new King that many Saudis oppose the Islamic State merely because they are told to do so, while wondering why it is cast as being so bad. It is no coincidence that there are reported to be about 3,000 Saudis fighting with the Islamic State, and if the group makes a push towards the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina, as any self-respecting Caliph might do, it may find a good number of sympathizers ready to offer at least tacit support. It is not a good time therefore for Salman to continue the gentle reforms pursued by his predecessor. He may even roll back some changes in order to ensure he has as much credibility with the religious right as he can muster.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia, a country of less than 30 million people, with close to 50% of its population under 25, is now the lead Arab nation.
When it comes to beheadings, ISIS has nothing over Saudi Arabia
(Warning for the pictures)
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