Issue 713, 27 June 2003

Saudi dialogue brings many voices to bear on reform

Though tangible results are as yet hard to discern, the reform programme being pushed by Crown Prince Abdallah Bin Abdelaziz gathered momentum in Riyadh with a mid-June “national dialogue” attended by representatives of a broad spectrum of Saudi opinion. For the first time, clerics and intellectuals espousing various shades of the official Wahhabi strand of Islam met formally to debate with representatives of the minority Shia and Ismaili communities, as well as liberals and technocrats.

The meeting was staged over four days, with ten discussion sessions. Speakers were each allotted five minutes to make their point, with two minutes set aside for a rebuttal. Notes were taken throughout and each evening these were circulated so that participants could check that their remarks had been accurately represented.

This highly structured debate produced a crowded reform agenda that was remarkable at least for its intellectual pluralism. Conferees called for a further push for political enfranchisement and women’s rights, a more independent judiciary and the more equitable sharing of resources. They also sought to sideline extremist radicals by reclaiming the state’s sole authority over jihad.

The conference represented a political success for Crown Prince Abdallah, whose hand has been strengthened by the widespread shock among ordinary Saudis at the recent terror bombings in Riyadh (GSN 712/7; 711/6; 710/3). The security forces’ failure to capture extremists before they could launch attacks has weakened the hand of the traditionalist “securocrat” camp, led by Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdelaziz.

CPA has argued that stability can only be achieved through broader participation in politics and through action on social concerns – not through tougher policing and the hard-line re-assertion of conservative Wahhabi principles. He has made the case bluntly in print for an international audience, through his circular to fellow Arab leaders early this year. He has adopted a less vocal approach within Saudi Arabia, preferring to cultivate potential allies – whose own public statements help foster a climate for change.

In a receptive climate already warmed by King Fahd’s recent promises of reform, CPA pushed for the organisation of the national dialogue and provided its inaugural speech – read for him by Majlis Al-Shura Chairman Sheikh Dr Salih Bin Abdallah Bin Huayd. Further dialogue sessions are planned, with permanent administrative support.

After the close of the conference the Crown Prince received participants at his palace in Jeddah, where they presented him with 21 recommendations. This two-hour meeting, held after Friday prayers on 20 June, was also attended by Defence Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdelaziz. Despite his reputation as the key facilitator of Western arms deals and US ties, Sultan has been associated with the promotion of hard-line Wahhabi ideas. His attendance on Friday may be a signal that – perhaps nudged by his friends in the US military – he has begun to accept Crown Prince Abdallah’s arguments for liberalisation.

The broad range of clerical and intellectual representation gave particular weight to two tracks of the dialogue. It provided a clear rejection of claims to Islamic authority for extremist violence, asserting that only a national ruler authorise jihad and that individual clerical fatwas could not do so.

At the same time, the dialogue backed political reforms including a stronger role for women and moves towards wider media freedom – a priority signalled in CPA’s statement to the talks. He pointed out that in a high-tech world, bans, blocks or censorship could no longer shield a country and its citizens from “harmful ideas” and made a defence of free speech that could have been penned by Voltaire: “I believe you all agree with me that the most efficient means to achieve this is through… quiet dialogue that respects the other opinion and allows for free exchange of views.”

A further sign of CPA’s moves to relax the media climate came at a 24 June official Saudi briefing at the Royal United Services Institute in London. Prince Abdallah Bin Faisal Bin Turki, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia), indicated the government was quite keen to approve the opening of more permanent bureaux of foreign news organisations in the Kingdom.