Riyadh deal: A Yemeni version of Balfour Declaration

By Mohammad Ghaderi

Officials in Riyadh are so satisfied with an agreement between the Saudi-backed forces loyal to the toppled Mansour al-Hadi government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) supported the UAE that enthusiasm is obvious in their remarks.

Actually, it is an agreement between UAE and Saudi mercenary forces. It is so favorable for Riyadh that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman hailed the deal as a new chapter in Yemen’s history and a step toward ending the war in the country.  

Interestingly, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that the deal indicates that Saudi Arabia is trying to establish peace in Yemen. United States President Donald Trump also welcomed the deal and described it as “a very good start” for Yemen.

There are a few points to be made about the deal: first, many social media users and experts believe that the deal is in fact a Yemeni version of the Balfour Declaration which led to the creation of Israel in Palestine. Riyadh intends to occupy Yemen through the deal.

Second, the deal was basically brokered between the Saudi and UAE forces while the Yemeni representatives and Houthis were not involved, so it cannot be an agreement between south and north Yemen. The Houthi movement responded to the deal, saying that it is a useless agreement that cannot be implemented and has nothing to do with the Yemeni nation.

Third, the deal seeks to share power between Saudi and UAE forces in the country’s southern provinces. Therefore, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will indirectly exercise power in these areas.

The deal was boasted so important that bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan were present during its signing process in Riyadh. The deal calls for the formation of a new cabinet of no more than 24 ministers within 30 days that would have equal representation for northerners and southerners. The Saudi-led coalition has practically taken the control of Yemen by this deal.

Fourth, by launching a media propaganda campaign, the Saudi officials are trying to improve their reputation through this deal. By exaggerating the deal, the officials attempt to describe it as their historic achievement to end the Yemeni war. But, the point is that the Saudi-led coalition and the UAE are the main culprits for the war in Yemen.  

Earlier, there have been intense clashes between mercenaries affiliated with the UAE and Saudi Arabia in Aden and southern Yemeni cities, with many experts calling it a sign of domestic disputes between these two countries. Saudi Arabia, which found out these clashes would hurt the aggressors, made great efforts in recent weeks to broker a ceasefire agreement between the mercenaries on both sides.

UAE forces have ceded the control of important areas of Aden to Saudi-backed mercenaries in recent weeks. Now, based on the deal, Saudi Arabia will take the control of Hadramout, which reveals Riyadh’s effort to occupy Yemen.

Fifth, the deal emphasized the necessity of unity among all parties under the watch of Saudi-led coalition to confront the Houthi movement. This move goes against national goals in Yemen. Riyadh had found that Yemen’s Houthis intended to launch a military operation against the aggressors, so it united mercenaries of the two countries in fight against the Houthi movement.

In fact, Saudi Arabia does not want clashes between Saudi and UAE mercenaries provide any opportunity for Houthis, therefor it resorts to any ploy to counter the Houthis.

If Riyadh really sought to strike an accord between the Yemenis, first it should have not mentioned the Saudi-led coalition in the deal; secondly, it should have engaged Houthi forces, which are an important part of Yemen’s political system and cannot be overlooked in the country’s political structure.

The Riyadh deal is actually an agreement between Saudi Arabia and the UAE to share power in southern Yemen, not an agreement between Yemeni forces to manage the country.

If the Yemenis want to put an end to the crisis created by Saudi-led coalition, they must reach a comprehensive agreement, with the participation of all groups, away from foreign interventions. The Yemenis should establish an integrated government and take different parts of the country back from the invaders.   

Promotion of terror by false harbinger of peace

By: Ramin Hossein Abadian

TEHRAN, (MNA) – While Saudi Arabia proclaims itself as a harbinger of peace in the region and around the world, its crimes recorded in various parts of the world well illustrate its full support for “global terrorism”.

Nowadays Saudi Arabia has been taking a different stance trying to show itself as a supporter of peace in the region to cover up its crimes as one of the main supporters of global terrorism.

In order to divert public opinion from focusing on their crimes in different places, the Saudis are also trying to address the public opinion that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the resistance groups in the region are the promoters of terrorism.

Support for ISIL and al-Qaeda

Saudi Arabia is currently the reason for killing people in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and even Lebanon because of its expanded support of terrorist groups in recent years. Its support for the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group in recent years, especially in Syria and Iraq, has caused the killing of thousands of civilians, including women and children.

Diplomatic documents leaked by the Qatari Embassy in Washington on 26 October 2016, showed also the support of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for some al-Qaeda and ISIL terrorist leaders in Yemen.

According to the documents, the two crown princes of Saudi Arabia and UAE have been in constant contact with two of Al-Qaeda affiliated members Al-Hassan Ali Abkar and Abdullah Faisal al-Ahdel.  The documents provide details of the activities of two al-Qaeda commanders as well as direct donations from Saudi intelligence chief Khalid bin Ali Al Humaidan to purchase supplies and give to ISIL members.

In this regard, Shireen Tahmaasb Hunter, a professor of political science at Georgetown University in the US believes that Saudi Wahhabi ideology is a key factor in the formation of the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group.

Full-fledged defense of ‘state terrorism’

Saudi Arabia has always been a strong supporter of the Zionist regime over the past decades as a prominent example of promoting "state terrorism". It normalizes relations with Israel faster than other Arab countries. This is the same issue that the Zionists have mentioned on many occasions without referring directly to Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, a series of secret meetings between Saudi officials and the Zionist regime's indicate that the Al-Saud has associated with the Zionist regime the most prominent example of “state terrorism”.

In this connection, on the sidelines of a recent UN General Assembly meeting in New York City, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir secretly met with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

Trade and military exchanges between the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia are also among other areas of close relations between the two sides, which have made the Zionists more insolence in killing Palestinians.

According to what has been said, the Saudi authorities will undoubtedly play a major role in continuing the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime in the occupied territories against the Palestinians by defending “state terrorism” of the Zionist regime.

Establishment of a terrorist coalition against the Yemeni people

The establishment of a terrorist coalition against the defenseless and innocent Yemeni people is another Saudi activity in promoting terrorism and extremism in the region and around the world. Saudi Arabia formed a coalition of 17 countries to attack Yemen illegally and brutally in 2015. Since then, the Saudis have martyred thousands of people and injured hundreds in Yemen.

Its aggressive attacks on innocent Yemeni people in the form of a terrorist and illegal coalition have already caused fatal blows to the poorest Arab country. They also bombed all the medical centers. This has caused 80% of medical centers in Yemen to fail to provide medical services.

Because of the series of crimes against Yemeni people, even the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, put Saudi Arabia on the list of Yemeni children's rights violations. But threatened by Saudi authorities to cut funding to the UN, made him withdraw from his decision.

Support for MEK and the Ba'ath regime

The history of the terrorist activities of the terrorist group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) is obvious to everyone which killed many Iranians in the early years of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. However, Saudi Arabia is one of the main supporters of MEK, and at the same time proclaims itself a harbinger of peace in the region and around the world and accuses others of supporting terrorism.

According to Norwegian media, the Saudi Embassy in France pays all expenses for holding the annual conference of the MEK terrorist group in Paris.

The Saudis also continue to support the remnants of the Ba'ath regime in Iraq. Saudi ambassador to Jordan Khaled bin Faisal Al-Saud has met and held talks with Raghad Hussein daughter of Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq in Amman, according to media.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the latest developments in Iraq and how to further provoke protests against the Baghdad government and create chaos in Iraq. It is said that the Saudi ambassador to Jordan has offered an invitation to Raghad Hussein to attend a meeting on Iraq which will be held in Riyadh in the coming month.

What has been said is only a small fraction of Saudi Arabia's support for terrorism around the world, and there are now numerous reports of Saudi Arabia's promotion of terrorism, Wahhabism and extremism in East Asia and Africa.

Tehran, Riyadh's steps to de-escalate tensions

TEHRAN, (MNA) – Past tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent days have been replaced by positive signals for engagement and negotiation; the signs are evident in the speeches and statements of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia’s officials.

According to a report by IRNA, After years of tension and disagreement in various fields between Iran and Riyadh, there are now positive and promising signs from the authorities of two sides.

Rejection of war with Iran by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and emphasis on the effectiveness of diplomatic relations with Iran indicates a clear shift in the position of Saudi leaders.

The readiness of some regional actors such as Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia also shows that they hope to find a peaceful resolution of the Tehran-Riyadh disputes. 

In addition, Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei recently revealed Saudi Arabia's message to Tehran, which Saudi Arabia had their own interpretation for their domestic public opinion and foreign allies.

For instance, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir wrote oh his twitter that what Iranian Government Spokesman said was not accurate about the message of Saudi Arabia to Iranians. What happened is that some countries were trying to reduce the tension; we also told them that Saudi Arabia was constantly trying to create security and stability in the region.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which has always sought to improve its relations with neighboring and regional countries, such as Saudi Arabia, continues to emphasize its approach in the current situation.

In this regard, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Turkey's TRT World that Iran has always been ready to negotiate on all issues with Saudi Arabia. It is Iran’s neighbor. There is no choice but to talk to each other. Negotiation with Saudi Arabia can be direct or through mediation. Iran never rejects mediation.

Iran's peace plan, named Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE), proposed by President Hassan Rouhani at the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly this year in early September, showed the importance of endogenous security to achieve peace in the region.

Addressing the UN General Assembly session, Rouhani described ensuring security, peace, stability, and progress in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz as Iran’s historical responsibility and invited all countries that are affected by the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz developments to join the Hormuz Peace Endeavour (HOPE) initiative.

The Initiative is based on the fact that all regional states are duty-bound to ensure peace, stability, and prosperity in the region. They along with the global community have common interests in maintaining freedom of navigation and transfer of energy. HOPE is designed to include all countries of the region and aims to expand cooperation beyond regional security.

The Initiative promotes solidarity, mutual understanding and peaceful and friendly relations and cooperation among regional states as well as boosting collaboration in uprooting terrorism, extremism, and sectarian tensions and making sure about energy security, freedom of shipping and free flow of oil are among the objectives of the initiative.

Rouhani's Initiative came days after Yemen's missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities inflicting heavy cost on the Saudis. In this regard, some of Iran's enemies sought to exert pressure on Iran by taking advantage of this incident and claiming that Tehran was responsible for the attack.

Nearly a month after the Aramco attacks, US President Donald Trump is still seeking to take the most advantage of the attack for his multi-purpose goals, such as isolating and pressuring Iran, increasing disparities in the region, especially between countries of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, sending American weapons to these countries, justifying military presence and intervention in the region, and so on.

The US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Friday 19 October that US has approved the deployment of 3,000 additional troops and military hardware to Saudi Arabia, boosting the country's defense capability after attacks on its oil installations. He authorized the deployment of two more Patriot missile batteries, one THAAD ballistic missile interception system, two fighter squadrons, and one air expeditionary wing, according to Pentagon statement.

Observers believe that the sale of military equipment and weapons, along with the significant US military presence in Saudi Arabia, will be used to militarize the region and bring the money of selling of the Saudi Arabian oil products to the United States. The danger that has even caught the attention of congressmen, who have repeatedly protested the effects of Trump's greed for weapons sales and stood in front of the president, but have so far failed to succeed.

Only the Coalition of the Foolish Wants a War With Iran

If you want to identify the most reckless powers in our world today, look no further than Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America.

by

Vijay Prashad

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been at war against Yemen since 2015. It is a ghastly war, a reckless war, one for which there is no end in sight. Trump wants advice on how to deal with Iran from the architect of that war—Mohammed bin Salman. (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

There’s no point in dredging up that old slogan, No Blood for Oil. It had no impact the last time. Don’t bomb Iraq, we said in 2002 and 2003, to no avail. George W. Bush and his friends had it in mind to destroy that country, which they did.

Donald Trump fired John Bolton. It seemed as if it would be acceptable to breathe a sigh of relief. But that was premature. Bolton was not the only one itching for a war against Iran. So was Mike Pompeo of the State Department, and so are a legion of arms dealers, lobbyists, establishment hawks, and people who believe that the United States should bomb Iran on behalf of Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Yemen’s Houthis took credit for the attack on Saudi Arabia’s eastern oilfields. But that was not enough. It was not enough that the Iraqis said that Iran did not use Iraqi territory to launch the drones. The U.S. asserted that the attack was done by Iran. No more needed to be said. There was no need to drag someone like Colin Powell before the UN Security Council. In fact, there is no one like Colin Powell in the Trump administration. None of his Cabinet members has the kind of gravitas that can be squandered with a lie.

This is madness of the highest kind—asking a man who is in the midst of an intractable war whether one should go to war.

The reaction from Iran has been calm. The government in Tehran has decided not to cower beneath the storm clouds from Washington. It threatens Canada with its own sanctions if the Canadians do not release seized Iranian assets. An oil tanker that was carrying diesel to the United Arab Emirates has been seized by the Iranians on the grounds of smuggling. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani told the Syria Summit in Ankara, Turkey, that there can be no stability in Syria as long as U.S. troops remain there. Iran refuses to blink. It has taken the position that it must stand strong and call the U.S. bluff.

This is a dangerous bluff.

But it is also a calculated one.

Trade, Not Bombs

The Iranians know that there is no appetite in Europe for a U.S. war or even a U.S. military strike. This week, Michael Bock, the chair of the Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), is in Tehran. INSTEX is the mechanism created by the European Union to sidestep the U.S. unilateral sanctions. Bock has met with the governor of the Central Bank of Iran and the head of SATMA—the Iranian institution created to facilitate INSTEX. The Europeans are eager to restart trade with Iran. They are not interested in Trump’s froth.

Nor are the Turks, whose senior banking officials have met with the Iranians to discuss how to reestablish trade outside the U.S. orbit. Turkey is interested in its own version of INSTEX and is calibrating what it would mean for Turkey and Iran to trade using their own currencies (in the rial or the lira). Both countries have said that they would like to increase trade to $30 billion—three times the highest trade volume.

Even the British, embroiled in their Brexit mess, are not eager for war. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that “the picture is not entirely clear” as to who bombed the Saudi oil fields. He sounded like the Russians (no “hasty conclusions,” said Dmitry Peskov) and the Chinese (not easy to “apportion blame,” said Hua Chunying).

Russia and China

From the perspective of Russia and China, a U.S. bombardment of Iran would undermine their economic projects in Eurasia. There is fear in Moscow and Beijing that such an American adventure would rip apart whatever small measure of stability has been achieved from the Mediterranean Sea to the Hindu Kush mountains. The failed U.S. peace talks in Afghanistan leave that country now open to the initiatives from regional powers, including China and Russia.

One little-known aspect of the U.S.-Taliban talks over Afghanistan has been the role of China. In June and July, both Abdul Ghani Baradar—the Taliban’s chief negotiator—and Zalmay Khalilzad—the U.S. negotiator—came to Beijing at different times. China played a key role in urging Pakistan to pressure the Taliban in these talks. Even as the U.S. has stepped away, China will continue to build relations with various factions in Afghanistan. This is essential for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Trans-Himalayan Economic Corridor, which draw the Belt and Road Initiative southward into Pakistan and Nepal.

A U.S. war against Iran would upend the already terrible security situation in Afghanistan, and it would tear apart Syria and Iraq, as well as Lebanon. This is something that neither China nor Russia would like. That is why the U.S. will never get a favorable UN Security Council resolution to hit Iran. It would have to do it unilaterally. There are no allies for Trump apart from Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates: This is a Coalition of the Foolish.

Recklessness

Recklessness is not the mood in Tehran—nor in Moscow or Beijing. That should by now be clear.

If you want to identify the most reckless powers in our world today, look no further than Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America.

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he wants to annex the illegal settlements in the West Bank into Israel and leave a small, encircled rump territory occupied; this rump would include Ramallah. East Jerusalem would also likely be snatched fully in this move. This is recklessness. The reaction in Palestine would be another intifada, and—very likely—it would occasion rocket strikes not only from Gaza but also from Lebanon. Such an annexation would be an invitation to war.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been at war against Yemen since 2015. It is a ghastly war, a reckless war, one for which there is no end in sight. Trump wants advice on how to deal with Iran from the architect of that war—Mohammed bin Salman. This is madness of the highest kind—asking a man who is in the midst of an intractable war whether one should go to war.

Which brings us to the U.S. Trump has threatened war against Venezuela and Iran. He has used the entire apparatus of the U.S. war and money machine to conduct a hybrid war against these states. He has thus far not sanctioned a bombing run on them. But you never know. As I type these lines, Trump might be signing a document to authorize war.

No one on the planet wants Trump’s wars. We can march on the streets as we did in 2003, and the U.S. would not pay attention to us. Certainly, Bush did not, and certainly Trump will not. The U.S. is a reckless power. It needs to be checked.

This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

Vijay Prashad is the Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Chief Editor of LeftWord Books. He is a Writing Fellow and Chief Correspondent at Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute. He writes regularly for The Hindu, Frontline, Newsclick, and BirGün.

Al-Saud regime in end of the line: Hezbollah leader

TEHRAN, (MNA) – The leader of Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has said that the ruling regime of Saudi Arabia has got very old and has almost reached the end of the road.

In an interview with Tehran-based Al-Alam TV  which was aired on Sunday evening, Hassan Nasrallah said that "ruling regime of Saudi Arabia has got very old and is spending the last stages of its lifetime."

"In fact, Saudi Arabia was the initiator of hostility against Iran, and its problem with Iran was the same problem it had with other Arab countries, namely, supporting the Palestinian issue and regional resistance movements," the Hezbollah leader said, adding that "this is not a proxy war and we believe that Saudi Arabia is hostile to Lebanese resistance forces, regardless of Iran's position, so our problem with Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with Iran."

He said that the Saudi regime has become very old and for reasons such as its oppressive policies, corruption, crackdown on the people and the monopoly of the ruling family may be spending the last stages of its lifetime.

He added that the performance of the incumbent rulers compared to their predecessors have played a significant role in accelerating the fall of the regime.

The Hezbollah secretary general also said that declaring war on Yemen by Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2015 and the regime's interference in the internal affairs of other countries would affect the future of Saudi Arabia.

Nasrallah went on to add that for the first time in several Arab countries, people are chanting slogans like 'death to Saudi regime' against the intervention of Saudi Arabia.

UN Criticised For Link-Up With Saudi Prince MBS

Mohammed bin Salman (State Department via Flickr)

by James Reinl

The United Nations is under growing pressure to scrap an event it is co-hosting with the private foundation of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, who has been linked to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

On Tuesday, Sunjeev Bery, director of Freedom Forward, became the latest leader of a campaign group to press the U.N. to cancel the Sept. 23 event, saying it would help repair bin Salman’s reputation over the Khashoggi murder.

The event, known as the Misk-OSGEY Youth Forum, is a partnership between the U.N.’s youth envoy, Jayathma Wickramanayake, and the Misk Foundation, a culture and education foundation chaired by bin Salman, who is better known as MBS.

“No one — especially not the U.N. — should be partnering with MBS or his personal Misk Foundation,” Bery told IPS.

“Saudi Arabia’s brutal crown prince is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Yemeni children. His thugs imprisoned leading women’s rights activists and murdered Jamal Khashoggi.”

Kenneth Roth, the director of Human Rights Watch, a campaign group, last week accused the world body of helping to “whitewash” MBS’s record; Mandeep Tiwana, from Civicus, a rights group, called the event “disturbing”.

Kenneth Roth

✔@KenRoth

Why is the UN helping the Saudi crown prince whitewash his record by co-hosting a conference with a foundation he leads just a year after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi? https://trib.al/HxuBuXQ 

135

12:40 AM - Sep 1, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

144 people are talking about this

The U.N. youth envoy’s office declined to comment on the row. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body had repeatedly issued “very strong statements … calling for accountability” in Khashoggi’s killing.

The Misk-OSGEY Youth Forum will take place in New York only 10 days before the first anniversary of Khashoggi’s murder on Oct. 2 last year, when Saudi government agents killed and dismembered the journalist inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul.

The CIA later determined that MBS had personally ordered the hit. Saudi officials, who initially said Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, now say the journalist was killed in a rogue operation that did not involve MBS.

Saudi Arabia’s mission to the U.N. did not answer requests for comment from IPS.

The four-hour workshop for 300 young people at the New York Public Library will occur on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly and promote green themes, corporate responsibility and other aspects of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda.

It will feature Alexandra Cousteau, an environmentalist and granddaughter of French explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau; and Bart Houlahan, an entrepreneur who promotes sustainable business practices.

Other speakers include Andrew Corbett, an expert on entrepreneurship at Babson College, Paul Polman, former CEO of consumer goods firm Unilever, and Ann Rosenberg, an author and U.N. technology expert.

Dr. Reem Bint Mansour Al-Saud, a Saudi princess and an envoy to U.N. headquarters in New York, who advocates for empowering women and development in the Gulf kingdom, will also speak at the workshop.

Khashoggi, a United States-based journalist who frequently criticised the Saudi government, was killed while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was collecting papers for his wedding.

U.N. expert Agnes Callamard issued a report in June that described the assassination as a “deliberate, premeditated execution,” and called for MBS and other Saudi officials to be probed.

The Misk-OSGEY Youth Forum comes after years of tensions between the U.N. and Riyadh over the war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition against the country’s Houthi rebels.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and caused led to a major humanitarian crisis.

“The crown prince and his violent government must be held accountable for their human rights crimes,” said Bery, who advocates for the U.S. to cut ties with Saudi Arabia and other authoritarian regimes.

“Instead, misguided U.N. staff are absurdly giving the crown prince a public relations platform as he attempts to wipe away the blood of so many dead Yemeni children.”

James Reinl is an independent journalist with bylines at Al Jazeera English, PRI, Foreign Policy, and elsewhere. He covers international criminal justice, U.S. foreign policy, the UN Security Council, and the Middle East. 

What reform? The perils of the Saudi 'public decency' law

Hakim Charles Khatib

Saudi Arabia's new public decency law has social and economic implications [AFP/Getty]

Saudi Arabia's recent public decency law lays bare the limitations of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's "liberalising reforms", writes Hakim Khatib.

While Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's notion of "moderate Islam" aims at presenting Saudi Arabia as an enlightened 21st century state, recent so-called public decency law lays bare the limits of his social reforms. The law is supposed to define what is and what is not appropriate in public space yet many of its elements contradict the Crown Prince's much-hyped reform agenda.

Needless to say, the Crown Prince is walking a fine line between curbing the power of the longstanding ultraconservative religious institutionalism in the kingdom and keeping conservative quarters but also moderate but independent clerics compliant if not behind bars.

The public decency law, approved by the Saudi government last April, comes on the back of a series of social reforms in recent years. Most important of which are lifting of a ban on women's driving, scaling back guardianship laws that restrict women's roles and movement, easing of gender segregation and introduction of modern forms of entertainment such as mixed-gender cinemas, theatre and concerts. 

These social reforms are coupled with efforts to diversify and liberalise the Saudi economy, the largest in the region, away from a near total dependence on oil.

This (law) is an effort to balance the pressure from conservative elements of society that accuse the government of allowing things to go 'out of control'.

Yet, the restrictions laid out by the public decency law align with the kingdom's adoption of an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam, which has not particularly been a champion of social reforms.

While the Crown Prince's relaxed social reforms find dissidence within the conservative quarters in the kingdom, the new public decency law seems to seek to mitigate their discontent.

"This (law) is an effort to balance the pressure from conservative elements of society that accuse the government of allowing things to go 'out of control'," claimed Ali Shihabi, founder of the pro-Saudi think-tank Arabia Foundation (Editor: now defunct).

Public decency law in perspective

The law demands adherence to the respectful dress code of the kingdom and thus bans clothing with questionable prints on them. Only this week, the law, despite not being fully in force yet, was invoked to ban satirical t-shirts showing support for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

It also bans men's shorts, which are deemed offensive to "public tastes". The law also criminalises unlicensed "harmful" graffiti, offensive phrases or using racist language, subjecting women and children to pranks, and playing loud music or making disruptive sounds in public.

The New Arab ✔@The_NewArab Comment: As news comes of Saudi Arabia abolishing requirements for women to obtain permission from male guardians to obtain a passport and travel, it's important to remember this is a victory for women's struggle, not a gift bestowed by the Saudi regimehttp://ow.ly/m1EH50vkeYj  Saudi Arabia may be about to relax male guardianship over women, but there's a catch Comment: Any progress on women's rights will be a concession, not a... alaraby.co.uk 12 1:12 AM - Aug 2, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy See The New Arab's other Tweets

In addition to these broad rules, the law also prohibits crossing a queue in a public space, filming people without their consent, placing advertisements in front of homes or on cars, littering, and going into mosques with dirty clothes. 

While the law packages public decency as representing Saudi "values, traditions and culture", most of its components align with Saudi Arabia's austere interpretation of Islam. In Shihabi's words, "The Saudi leadership wants to undermine the Islamist basis of social power while still maintaining absolute political control and public order."

Comment: Nicki Minaj just schooled western leaders in saying no to Saudi petrodollars

This seems to be true. The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (religious police) has faded from the Saudi scene after a decision to freeze the powers of its members in 2016. The religious police had the power to arrest and punish violators of "public taste" without any legal basis.

Now the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) is in charge of enforcing the new law. It is responsible for appointing administrative regulators in order to enforce the provisions of the law. While the religious police previously had the power to impose fines and decide punishments for public misconduct, this power will now be transferred to the regular police.

The impact of the law is beyond social

The enforcement of the law effectively means reviving the role of religious police. The only difference is that in the past, religious police enforced "public decency" without legal backing, while now the regular police will have legal grounds to "protect public decency".

But the controversy of the proposed law does not stop at hindering social reforms and restricting personal freedoms. It actually extends beyond that to affect the Crown Prince's economic reforms.

The enforcement of public decency law indicates that Saudi Arabia has not yet departed from its longstanding ultra-con servative religious institutionalism.

One of the objectives the Crown Prince's Vision 2030 is supposed to achieve is diversifying and liberalising the Saudi economy. Attempting to follow Dubai's success in the tourism sector, Saudi government is hoping to increase spending on this sector from $27.9bn in 2015 to $46.6bn in 2020 and then transform tourism to become a key part of its Vision 2030. Yet, the law increases restrictions on expats and tourists, which is not particularly beneficial for tourism.

One of the key issues Saudi Vision 2030 aims to achieve is establishing a new economic zone on 470km of the Red Sea coast in order to lure investors from all parts of the world. While this sounds progressive, the enforcement of the public decency law would mean less attraction of investors.

The Crown Prince's efforts to foster reforms in the kingdom are to be applauded because of their importance. Nonetheless, the enforcement of public decency law indicates that Saudi Arabia has not yet departed from its longstanding ultraconservative religious institutionalism.

Finally, the controversy of the public decency law does not only lie in its contradiction to the aspired reforms but also in its implementation. There is a lack of mechanisms to enforce it in the first place due to the vagueness of its content. Thus, the rules suggested in the law remain subject to discretionary interpretation.

Hakim Khatib is a research fellow at the Frankfurt Research Centre on Global Islam at the Goethe University Frankfurt in Gemrany and the editor-in-chief of the Mashreq Politics and Culture Journal.