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Saudi Arabia Lifts 35-Year-Old Cinema Ban

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by Aysha Qamar

For the first time in over 35 years, Saudis will soon be able to go to the movie theater. Religious leaders forced the closure of cinemas in the 1980s, claiming they were a threat to Saudi religious identity.

A resolution allowing the Culture Ministry to license commercial cinemas has been passed lifting the ban that has been in place for over three decades.

The kingdom’s culture ministry said, the move to remove the ban was another strand of its “Vision 2030” social and economic reform plan for the country that is being pushed through by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

According to Saudi authorities, Vision 2030 aims to increase Saudi household spending on cultural and entertainment activities from 2.9 percent to 6 percent by 2030. They hope this will create new employment opportunities and provide a greater range of entertainment options while reducing the reliance on oil.

Minister of Culture and Information Awwad bin Saleh Alawwad said, “Opening cinemas will act as a catalyst for economic growth and diversification; by developing the broader cultural sector we will create new employment and training opportunities, as well as enriching the Kingdom’s entertainment options.”

Saudis often visit neighboring countries for vacations and leisure time, the government hopes to create more entertainment and leisure activities to encourage local tourism and increase touristic revenue.

Saudi Arabia is seeing many changes with the new crowned prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who has vowed to destroy “extremist ideologies” and return to “a more moderate Islam.”

From early next year, commercial movie theaters will be granted licenses, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information said in a statement on Monday. It expects the first cinemas to open their doors in March.

The first movie theaters are set to open in March, with plans to have more than 2,000 screens up and running by 2030.

“This marks a watershed moment in the development of the cultural economy in the Kingdom,” Alawwad said.

Uneasiness in the Desert Kingdom

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by Dr. Aslam Abdullah

Everything in the Desert Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seems to be changing but in a slow motion.  Arrests, palace coup, death of male members of the royal family, increasing rhetoric against Iran, missile attack by the Yemeni tribes, campaign against corruption, liberalization, immigration and depleting oil reserves.

These are some of the key words in headlines reporting recent events in Saudi Arabia. But what is not reported is that the kingdom has only one monarch with absolute power and his word is final. Ailing King Salman is the 25th son of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud. He is one of 36 surviving sons of the 45 male children and many daughters.

But the one who is running the country is not the King himself but the 33 year old Crown Prince  Mohammad bin Salman. Known among peers as MBS, he is described as young, ambitious, hasty decision maker and belligerent but inexperienced. He is said to be the architect of Saudi foreign policy in Yemen, Syria and Qatar. The crown prince calls himself a close friend of Donald Trump who tweeted welcoming the recent developments in Saudi Arabia during his recent visit to Asian countries.

MBS is known to be ruthless and intolerant to his opponents. yet he is an advocate of liberal policies in Saudi civil society He denys citizens right to express themselves freely, yet accords female drivers the right to drive.

MBS runs the anti-corruption committee formed recently after public outcry over increasing charges of corruption under King Salman. Saudi Arabia ranks last in the world for budget transparency and no one in the country apart from a small group of princes knows how much is the income and what are the expenses.

Several royal family members had accused the Salman branch of the House of Saud of fraud and corruption. Stories about the King spending 100 million in Morocco during his recent holidays and one of his sons buying a $500 million yacht were commonly heard in the kingdom  Interestingly, those who were recently arrested or killed include all those who were critical of the Crown Prince and his handling of the Saudi Affairs.

Saudi princes, whose numbers runs in thousands, live lavish lifestyles mostly far away from the Kingdom in Europe or Americas. Their father or grandfather King Ibn Saud had 22 wives, but never more than four at a time. The present king is considered to be one of the magnificent seven born to his tenth wife Sassa al Sudairi. Saud married her when she was 13. She was not only the most beautiful of all but the most influential and prominent of all as well. Until recently the Saudi royal family practiced agnatic seniority meaning the monarch’s younger brother and not his son would succeed to throne.

This is how Saudi royal family had conducted its succession process until recently. Ibn Saud, who died  in 1953, was succeeded by his son Saud from his second wife. King Saud ruled for 11 years, but he was forced to abdicate in favor of Faisal. He was later deposed and exiled. King Faisal ruled until 1975 when he was assassinated by his nephew. The royal family forced Saud to abdicate in favor of Faisal, and then Saud was deposed and exiled. King Faisal was assassinated in 1975 and his half brother Khalid took the throne. He ruled for seven years and he died of a heart attack in 1982. Fahd succeeded Kahlid, the eldest of magnificent seven. His rule lasted for 23 years. Salman followed his elder brother.

However, this rule of succession changed when Salman sidelined his younger brother and installed his son as the next king. Even though he filled his cabinet with the male heirs of his brother, the dissent to his policy was evident.

As suggested by news reports, the Crown prince believed that the dissident princes were behind protest movements and negative stories about the ruling family.   He was also suspicious of many of his cousins whom he suspected of backstabbing him.    

The Crown prince is aware of the challenges he faces. But he is relying on his economic policies and reforms that he believes would entice younger Saudis to his side. He wants to create an image of a reformer to bring about positive changes in the civil society where conservative clergy still dominates the culture. However, Saudi experts believe that the internal struggle within the royal family will determine the future shape of the kingdom.