The Reactions of the Saudi Religious Scholars to the ''Saudi Vision 2030''

Abstract

Since its announcement in 2015, the "Saudi Vision 2030" proclaimed by the crown prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Salman as the backbone of the country’s internal and external policy, has had its impact on the Saudi religious scholars and clerics defining their new role in the Saudi society.
The role of both religious scholars and institutions has begun to decline in the concept of development of Saudi Arabia. Extending the Council of Senior Scholars and involving supporters of their own political line besides reducing the role of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia intended to neutralize any obstacle preventing the implementation of the "Saudi Vision 2030".
The different views expressed earlier by the Saudi religious scholars on women's freedom, development of entertainment industry in addition to a number of other issues in Saudi Arabia began to differ dramatically.
Muhammad bin Salman's "Moderate Islam" is a politically repressive Islam, where disobedient voices are silenced, critics are subjected to coercive obedience, and any disobedience to rulers is criminalized.