Major reshuffle in Saudi Arabia

any thoughts from our friends in the kingdom?  was this a surprise?

Major reshuffle in Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has sacked two powerful religious officials in a wide ranging shake-up of the cabinet and other government posts.

One of the dismissed men was the head of the controversial religious police force. The other was the country's most senior judge.

The king also appointed the country's first-ever female minister and replaced the head of the central bank.

Correspondents say such government reshuffles are rare in Saudi Arabia. <!- E SF ->

King Abdullah, who came to power in 2005, has for a long time had the reputation of a reformer – and the latest appointments have the makings of one of the biggest shake-ups in Saudi public life for many years.

The BBC's Arab affairs analyst Bob Trevelyan says the pace of change has been slow in the four years of the king's reign.

Despite the shake-up, our correspondent says the kingdom remains an absolute monarchy and real political change is not on the agenda.

Feared organisation

The sacked head judge, Sheikh Salih Ibn al-Luhaydan, caused controversy last September when he said it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV channels which broadcast immoral programmes.

Sheikh Salih Ibn al-Luhaydan said some "evil" entertainment programmes aired by the channels promoted debauchery.

Our correspondent says the sheikh may well be paying the price for airing his opinions.

The shake-up also affected the feared religious police organisation, known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ghaith has lost his job as head of the commssion, which enforces Saudi Arabia's conservative brand of Islam, Wahhabism.

The commission has wide powers to search for alcohol and drugs, to crack down on prostitution and ensure shops are closed during prayer times.

But our correspondent says the religious police have been widely criticised recently over allegations of brutality – the kind of comments that could never have been made publicly a few years ago.

@lady of virtues:

Everything you disagree with is a big 'lie' to you. There's an English word for that, it's called 'ignorance'.

It doesn't surprise that you don't know what goes on in your own country, and deny any outside reports. Funny how people like you like to criticize alleged human rights abuses elsewhere, then ignore those going in your own country.

-The virtual enslavement of illegal domestic servants, like those from the Phillipines.

-The banning of all non-Islamic religions in Saudi Arabia

-Amputation as a punishment for stealing

..... the list goes on.   Saudi Arabia is fundamentalist Islamic state.

this article is wrote by a big liar …

king AbduAllah is not just a king but also a father ..

sorry, where did the article say anything bad about your King? What does him replacing government officials have anything to do with his being a father?

Matrix, has this news about the changes been in saudi media or did you first read about it here?

Matrix, have these changes in the government been in the news there?  Seems like at least two residents of the kingdom here are surprised at the news. 

gkisseberth

you r very up todate..:)..

any thoughts from our friends in the kingdom?  was this a surprise?

I don't  think so …...!! 

I read in Turkish news that a woman got a job at the government as representative    Secretary of Education in Saudi Arabia at the first time in it's history.

MATRIX 07,

 You should answer the question, not me

why do you consider that posting stories about a country where I don't live is intrusive? The Kingdom is an important player in the international economy and other areas and what they do has impact on the rest of the world. 

As ebaby is an international community don't you think it's interesting to read and learn about other countries? If peace and stability comes from understanding other cultures and people, I think it's a problem to just "keep reading about your own country". 

I can understand if you're not interested in politics, though. Many people feel the same. It's interesting how your reaction and that of another resident of the Kingdom almost immediately suspected the news to be a lie. 

Lol.

It sounds like isolationist Japan.

I can't blame people that live in an abolutist dictatorship for just wanting to live their own lives and not get into politics. 

But we can discuss it., can't we?