|
Trending Topics
|
New Saudi Monarch Seen Moving in Conservative Direction at Home
(Wall Street Journal) Yaroslav Trofimov - Saudi King Salman, 79, who assumed the throne after his older brother, King Abdullah, died on Jan. 23, has ended his predecessor's campaign to stamp out the Muslim Brotherhood. He also moved to appease Saudi religious conservatives, replacing the head of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice who was criticized by conservatives for attempting to defang the feared religious police. The Committee's enforcers have already become more active, resuming patrols in shopping malls and raiding beach-front compounds used by foreigners. On Wednesday the king removed from her post the most senior female official in the kingdom, the deputy education minister, whose appointment in 2009 was hailed by the West as an encouraging sign of progress on women's rights. He has also made conciliatory moves toward Islamist dissenters, relaxing or ending travel bans and other measures against some.