Saudi Arabia: The hereditary prince assures a change of country through a more moderate Islam

The future monarch of Saudi Arabia has stated that the country has begun a process to leave a religious vision, but also a political, fundamentalist, to go towards a more moderate and open way in relations with the world and other religions. The theater of these statements was a conference in which some 2500 potential investors, including several foreigners, were willing to finance projects in the Saudi monarchy. The need for Saudi Arabia to become a reliable interlocutor is due to economic and political reasons. Crude oil price contraction has reduced revenue for the country, but still has a large financial liquidity that can make a breakthrough in the country's economy, pursued through a differentiation in the production structure. To do this, it is necessary to present a different face of the country: Saudi Arabia has been perched on its intransigent positions of a too rigid religious vision, which has also disrupted political management. The fact that he is the guardian of the holy places of Islam has exerted a kind of extremism in religion, which has helped justify authoritarianism in the exercise of power. The denial of political and social rights, especially women, the harsh and discriminatory treatment reserved for foreign workers or Shiites, the many death sentences are extremely negative, with large investments made abroad and high availability of money they can not cancel. There is also the problem of international politics about the government's attitude towards the Islamic state: Saudi Arabia has been suspected of funding the caliphate at its early stage to use it against Syria and indirectly with Iran. The coalition that the Saudis have created with Turkey and Egypt, in addition to other Gulf monarchies, is based on the Sunni religious ties and has, as the main opponent, the Iranian theocratic republic, a duel that is renewed over time and it has as its foundation the religious supremacy within the Islamic religion. The relationship with the West and, in particular, with the US, deteriorated with President Obama, but with Trump it seems to have regained strength, even though the US military remains distrustful. The Saudi desire is therefore to play a major role in the region and globally, but without a more presentable appearance, the second objective is not practicable. The attainment of this goal must forever go through a situation of greater religious moderation, by which to mitigate the hardships of the political regime. A less authoritarian regime can foster dialogue with other nations, but this must be tangible with the concessions of political and social rights so far denied. Certainly to give a less archaic image of Saudi society is not enough to allow women to drive cars, although this gesture has brought much publicity to the Saudi prince. Political needs are strongly linked to economic ones: Saudi Arabia is a country that has focused on oil extraction, becoming one of the largest producers, so as to be able to influence market trends, but this did not favor differentiation of the economy and the development of a production fabric that can be alternative to the extractive segment. The economy's performance has squeezed oil profits and global instances towards alternative and less polluting energies decreed the need to invest in fields other than oil; the beginning will have to be to acquire skills, both individual and collective, as knowledge-based industries that will have to be attracted to an inner situation less influenced by the religious factor and characterized by a lower backwardness of the costumes combined with the presence of a right less conditioned by elements marked by a clear vision of the administration of justice. To overcome its ultraconservative image, the Saudi state will have to demonstrate, through tangible signs, a modernization of its institutions, which seems to be in the intentions of Prince Mohamed bin Salman, but which must also be accepted by a ruling class that still seems too firm on its own backward positions.