Quote:Considering his predecessor, and what is likely to follow, he was indeed a reformer, albeit a modest one. The forces against his efforts were overwhelming.

 

He has invested in education and their infrastructure, as well as driving the al Qaeda presence in his country underground.

Keep in mind though that Women for the most part are still viewed and treated as second class citizens in the Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia still persecutes Christians and other religious/ethnic minorities. Saudi Arabia is also one of only 7 other Country's in the World that still administers the death penalty for homosexuality and LGBT. Along with Mauritania, Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia, and Iran. (I wouldn't be surprised if NK executes people based on sexual preference too, but there's not enough information coming out of the Country to confirm or deny that).

 

 

Saudi Arabia is the only Country in the World to still carry out crucifixions as a legal form of punishment (not counting Daesh). The Kingdom doesn't have a representative assembly, but it does have a religious based council called the Council of Senior Scholars, this assembly is made up mostly of clerics, and many of them hold very strict Islamic and Wahhabist beliefs. Some people inside and outside of the Kingdom have speculated that this group of clerics holds more power and influence than even the King himself. For instance, before the start of the Gulf War, the King wanted to allow American and other Western troops to stay in the Kingdom but the assembly refused to allow non-Muslims to enter the Kingdom. The only reason why they eventually agreed to allow non-Muslim soldiers or "Infidels" into the Kingdom was when an Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia seemed imminent.

 

 

So to conclude, Saudi Arabia is still decades, maybe even centuries behind most the developed World.

---