Cinemas will open to the public in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia in 2018, the kingdom’s culture ministry has announced. The lifting of the ban follows several other steps by the Saudi Crown Prince touted as liberalization of the country.
This is good news, at least on the surface, as fun in Islam is generally regarded as haram. Already, powerful religious officials are, as might have been expected, decrying the move and warning that “films can be ‘immoral, atheistic or rotten” and have the potential ‘to open doors to evil.'” Women were also recently allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, so clearly changes are being implemented, but whether Saudi Arabia’s attempts to modernize can be taken at face value is another story, given the history of the country and some strange missives by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
It is no coincidence that “the social transformation” happening in Saudi Arabia “chimes with” the Crown Prince’s recent vow to “return” the country to moderate Islam. He asked for global support to transform the hardline kingdom into an “open society,” but what did he mean by “return”? That is a mystery, as Saudi Arabia was built on Wahhabism, and has been the primary force in spreading the Wahhabi ideology globally through its petrodollar funding. This has included the funding of radical mosques. The Crown Prince has also claimed that the kingdom had been “’not normal’ for the past 30 years… blaming rigid doctrines that have governed society in a reaction to the Iranian revolution, which successive leaders ‘didn’t know how to deal with.'”
The reality facing Saudi Arabia now is quite grim, and may be the impetus behind Mohammed bin Salman’s announcement to the world that Saudi Arabia is moving in a whole new direction. The kingdom has struggled financially due to the fall of oil prices — although it has struggled to maintain an appearances of wealth — and massive resources have gone to fund its war in Yemen. In fact, the country was forced to slash state spending and then borrow tens of billions from abroad, and it is now is depending on foreign investment.
Adding to the near-crisis in the Saudi economy, the kingdom is facing mounting criticism for alleged war crimes in Yemen; its archenemy Iran has jumped on that bandwagon, and in addition, has accused the Saudis of meddling in Lebanon’s business. Yet Iranian President Rouhani has also weighed in, stating to S.A.
You are making mistake if you think Iran is not your friend and the U.S. and Israel are your friends.
As Iran and Saudi Arabia battle it out for regional hegemony, it is expedient for Saudi Arabia to shore up foreign support. Donald Trump also pledged to support the kingdom’s efforts to modernize its country and fight terrorism during a meeting in early November.
While Saudi citizens can look forward to their first cinemas, Mohammad bin Salman is also enjoying his Time magazine’s readers’ Person of the Year designation, showing that he has been quite effective in the positive image department “on behalf of his country despite the continued bombardment of Yemen and deteriorating relations between Riyadh and Tehran.”
“Saudi Arabia to finally open first cinemas in early 2018,” RT News, December 11, 2017:
Cinemas will open to the public in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia in 2018, the kingdom’s culture ministry has announced. The lifting of the ban follows several other steps by the Saudi Crown Prince touted as liberalization of the country.
“As the industry regulator, the General Commission for Audiovisual Media has started the process for licensing cinemas in the Kingdom,” Minister of Culture and Information, Awwad bin Saleh Alawwad, said in a statement on Monday.
“We expect the first cinemas to open in March 2018,” he added as cited by Reuters.
Saudi Arabia has strict religious rules, which govern citizens’ public life…..
Despite almost all Saudis having TV sets, public demonstrations of cinema were banned in the 1980s, being regarded by hardliners as vulgar and sinful. IMAX is believed to be the only operating movie theatre in the kingdom, featuring only educational films. Earlier, the proposal to lift the ban was condemned by powerful religious officials, who say that films can be “immoral, atheistic or rotten” and have the potential “to open doors to evil.”
Last week, Mohammad bin Salman won Time magazine’s readers’ Person of the Year, despite the continued bombardment of Yemen and deteriorating relations between Riyadh and Tehran. Domestically, he has initiated several more changes which the Western media see as breakthroughs, including allowing women to drive and attend sports events at stadiums from 2018. Salman has even vowed to return to moderate Islam. However, Saudi Arabia still has a strict adherence to ultra-conservative Islam and some of the most severe punishments, including the death penalty, for breaking both religious and secular laws.