Religious Rules Eased Off In Saudi; Few Millennial Against It

Religious Rules Eased Off In Saudi; Few Millennial Against It

The new Prince gears to bring new fashion to his Saudi kingdom.

Sound of music and dance floats from a café in a Riyadh; several women in colorful robes are found waiting outside the café. This kind of scene is rare in Saudi Arabia and also proves that change is coming in the country.

But the scene is quite different just few miles away from the city capital. The historic capital of Saudi Arabia still is as religious as it was thousands of years back. Tourists can hear Islamic chants echoing through the loudspeakers and reaching every corner of the city, while young children are found chasing tourists for money and food. When a 23-year-old guy was asked about his view on the changing scenario of Saudi, he spoke against the change. The guy, named Musid works at a jewellery shop still believes that the country should follow the rituals and customs which set inscribed in their holy book, Quran.

The social scenario of Saudi Arabia is very interesting; while half of the population is below the age of 30, the present ruler of the state is just 32 years old. Prince Mohammed Bin Salman who returned to the country last year claimed that the young group wants a normal life out of religion. He is allowing mixed gender concerts and permit for women to drive.

While the Prince tries to moderate Islam in Riyadh, still many young men have moved to Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq to join Jihadists. As per Allison Woods, a Middle East consultant there is a gap in thoughts between the privileged Saudi youngsters who had the liberty to travel to foreign countries and had the facility to taste free life and the non-privileged ones who are deprived of such independence. The lack of employment and high tax rates also do not motivate the citizens to any social changes.