MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN'S REFORMS VS. WAHHABI RULES: A CHALLENGE FOR THE STATUS QUO OF THE SAUDI STATE?
MUHAMMAD BIN SALMAN'S REFORMS VS. WAHHABI RULES: A CHALLENGE FOR THE STATUS QUO OF THE SAUDI STATE?

Author(s): Ecaterina Maţoi, Diana-Monica Constantin
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Civil Society, Security and defense, Developing nations, Political behavior, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Carol I National Defence University Publishing House
Keywords: Wahhabism; as-Saud family; reforms; Muhammad bin Salman; ulema.
Summary/Abstract: In the mid-eighteenth century, the as-Saud family concluded an agreement with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a rebellious preacher who promoted a very literal approach to Islamic religious precepts and was against of any deviation from the initial practices of Islam. This understanding between the Wahhabis and the As-Saud family has legitimized the latter to pursue an expansionist policy and to create a sustainable state at the beginning of the twentieth century. Therefore, the Saudi monarchy monopolized political and military action,while the Wahhabi clergy took over the religious, legal and social spheres of the newly established Saudi state. However, with the "modernizing" reforms initiated by Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) in 2017 in Saudi Arabia, such as authorizing women to drive or reopening cinemas – among others - accompanied by his statements and initiatives calling for a moderate Islam - have been interpreted by the fundamentalists as a tendency to break the historic pact between the Saudi House and the Wahhabi religious institution.In this paper we will try to see to what extent the reforms so widely circulated in the regional,international and local press, are sustainable in the long term, taking into account the importance and role of Wahhabi ulema in the Saudi society and, equally, if the "moderateIslam" model promoted by MbS could find supporters among them.

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