How Saudi reforms pave the road to the city of the future

It was no coincidence that Prince Mohammed bin Salman chose the launch of the ambitious Neom project to speak of moderation, tolerance and the eradication of extremism — the two are closely linked.

AT his launch of the colossal Neom “future city” project last week, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was not focused only on business, infrastructure and investment. As important as the economy was at this event, he made sure to bring up another project — how to complete Saudi Arabia’s internal reform process, and in particular how to break free from and eradicate all remnants of extremism. The two projects are closely linked.

The crown prince said Saudi Arabia would return to the moderate and tolerant Islam that characterized it before 1979, and that the country would not waste another 30 years dealing with extremist ideas, which would be eradicated in the near future. Saudi Arabia intended to contribute to global development as well as its own, he said, and recent reform measures were only a beginning.

Was this linked to the themes of the Neom launch? Certainly. These social and intellectual reforms may in fact be necessary for Neom’s success.

Saudi Arabia has gone through similar transformations before. One of the most profound took place with the discovery of oil in the 1930s. New cities, such as Dammam, Dhahran, Khobar and Ras Tannoura, were built from scratch for the new industry. Older cities were hugely expanded and airports, seaports and railways were built. Social development followed, including universal education and health care. Equally important was an intellectual revolution that eschewed provincialism, intolerance and parochial notions. Saudi Arabia had also to tackle xenophobic extremists who were opposed to that transformation.

It succeeded against the forces of darkness. It was winning the war against extremism and intolerance – until 1979, when a combination of currents led to the now discredited religious-political “Awakening” movement. In February 1979, the Iranian revolution toppled the Shah and installed a theocratic regime that had a universal mission to shape the whole Muslim world in its own image, by force if necessary. That fever swept the region, and some young Saudis found the message appealing. Some were recruited by Iran, trained and armed; they attacked oil installations and other government symbols.

Inspired by the Iranian example, another extremist group took over the Holy Mosque in Makkah in November 1979, proclaiming the start of a new, intolerant, religious mission. After weeks of bloody clashes, that group was evicted and its leaders were either killed or jailed. However, the impact of the brief struggle was devastating; many young Saudis started their own extremist agenda. Some used violence to achieve their goals, burning video shops and attacking artists. Cinemas were shuttered and restrictions on women intensified. A witch hunt ensued against university professors, intellectuals and journalists who disagreed with the new militancy.

That year, 1979, was also pivotal for another reason. In December, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, fueling the new “Awakening” in its search for a cause. The heavy-handed Soviet devastation of Afghanistan and brutality against its civilian population served as rallying cries and tools for recruitment throughout the region. The war in Afghanistan gave the militants the patina of jihad and made them almost untouchable when they tried to impose their intolerant social vision of Islam on Saudi Arabia. Osama bin Laden did both — fighting the Russians in Afghanistan while encouraging preachers in Saudi Arabia to spread his extremist vision of Islam.

The post-1979 orthodoxy, in both its militant and peaceful versions, augured one of the darkest periods in Saudi Arabia’s history. Several steps were taken to tame it after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and after a string of terrorist acts in Saudi Arabia between 2003 and 2005.

Now the crown prince is determined to eradicate all remnants of extremism and intolerance, once and for all. That fight is closely linked to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the Neom project. Without it, development will be slow and uncertain. Development requires integration and close interaction with the rest of the world. It needs the goodwill, cooperation and active participation of the best talents from around the world, women as well as men. Without tolerance and moderation, such integration and cooperation would be limited at best.

QAbdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is a columnist for Arab News. Email: aluwaisheg@gmail.com. Twitter: @abuhamad1