\n
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged a \u201cmoderate, open\u201d country on Tuesday, breaking with ultra-conservative clerics in favour of an image catering to foreign investors and Saudi youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are returning to what we were before \u2014 a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world,\u201d he said at an economic forum in Riyadh.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe will not spend the next 30 years of our lives dealing with destructive ideas. We will destroy them today,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will end extremism very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crown prince\u2019s statement is the most direct attack by a Saudi official on the Gulf country\u2019s influential conservative religious circles, who have for decades wielded influence on policy.<\/p>\n
While the Saudi government continues to draw criticism from international rights groups, Prince Mohammed has pushed ahead with reforms since his sudden appointment on June 21.<\/p>\n
Authorities have vied to modernise certain sectors in the kingdom, hinting that long-banned cinemas would soon be permitted as part of ambitious reforms for a post-oil era that could shake up the austere kingdom\u2019s cultural scene.<\/p>\n
\n
The young prince is widely regarded as being the force behind King Salman\u2019s decision last month to lift a decades-long ban prohibiting women from driving.<\/p>\n
Earlier Tuesday, Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund announced the launch of an independent economic zone along the kingdom\u2019s northwestern coastline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The project, dubbed NEOM, will operate under regulations separate from those that govern the rest of Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Monitors, including Amnesty International, say Saudi Arabia has in parallel stepped up its repression of peaceful rights activists.<\/p>\n
Saudi authorities last month arrested dozens of activists, including clerics, without disclosing any charges against them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By NAN October 24 2017. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged a \u201cmoderate, open\u201d country on Tuesday, breaking with ultra-conservative clerics in favour of an image catering to foreign investors and Saudi youth. \u201cWe are returning to what we were before \u2014 a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged a \u201cmoderate, open\u201d country on Tuesday, breaking with ultra-conservative clerics in favour of an image catering to foreign investors and Saudi youth. \u201cWe are returning to what we were before \u2014 a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/saudi-prince-salman-pledges-moderate-islam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NigeriaNewsWeb\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-24T17:20:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/prince.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"NigeriaNews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"NigeriaNews\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/saudi-prince-salman-pledges-moderate-islam\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/saudi-prince-salman-pledges-moderate-islam\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"NigeriaNews\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/94bd51aaf43c93a63b2cf08b4bc2b5a9\"},\"headline\":\"Saudi Prince – Salman pledges \u2018moderate Islam\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-24T17:20:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-24T17:20:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/saudi-prince-salman-pledges-moderate-islam\/\"},\"wordCount\":290,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"BREAKING\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/saudi-prince-salman-pledges-moderate-islam\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/saudi-prince-salman-pledges-moderate-islam\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/saudi-prince-salman-pledges-moderate-islam\/\",\"name\":\"Saudi Prince - 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<\/p>\n