This is some good news coming out of Saudi Arabia, and a start of what appears to be religious reform by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The Saudi king on Saturday dismissed the chief of the religious police and a cleric who condoned killing the owners of TV networks that broadcast "immoral" content, signaling an effort to weaken the country's hard-line Sunni establishment.
The shake-up — King Abdullah's first since coming to power in August 2005 — included the appointment of a female deputy minister, the highest government position a Saudi woman has attained.
The king also changed the makeup of an influential body of religious scholars, for the first time giving more moderate Sunnis representation to the group whose duties include issuing the religious edicts known as fatwas.
"This is the true start of the promises of reform," said Jamal Khashoggi, editor of Al-Watan newspaper and an experienced observer of the kingdom's politics. "They bring not only new blood, but also new ideas,"
"They are more moderate and many are also close to the reform agenda of the king, having worked closely with him."
The delay in making these changes could also be in part because the necessary officials and scholars had to be trained for the job.
"The people now in charge are not being ordered to implement reform," Khashoggi added. "They believe in reform."
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Let us give thanks to our Lord for this good news and keep praying for mercy to cover the Christians who have converted from Islam to Christianity in Saudi Arabia and keep sending emails to or phone the Saudi embassy thanking the King for these welcomed religious changes and request the release of Hamoud Bin Saleh, the young Saudi arab blogger who was arrested by the same dreaded religious police January 13th, and officials blocked access to his Website ( http://christforsaudi.blogspot.com/ ) due to his opinions and announcement that he had become a Christian. Your prayers and e-mails do not go unnoticed by God and can change things for the better.
India
Saudi Arabia Embassy,
India2, Paschimi Marg,
Vasant Vihar110057New Delhi.Phone:+91-11-26144102+91-11-26144073+91-11-26144083Fax:+91-11-26144244+91-11-26144201
USA(202) 342-3800(202) 337-4084
riyadhniv@state.gov
UK
UKe-mail to
ukemb@mofa.gov.sa
(0)20 7917 3000
Canada(613) 237-4100(613) 237-0567
Australia(02) 6250 7000(02) 6282 8911
Tags: King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia Religious Establishment, Hamoud Bin Saleh,Saudi Religious Police
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