Saudi Arabia swings to winds of change

There is music all around. The festivities may not be on the scale of Dubai but Saudi Arabia, which until recently was considered a conservative Islamic State closed to the outside world, has initiated the beginning of a new culture where jazz and orchestra are no more a taboo. It will not be an ex­aggeration to say that this Arabian Peninsula is under­going a cultural revolution led by the heir to the throne, 32-year old Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.

When Prince Muhammad Bin Salman floated his “Vi­sion 2030” in 2016, many pun­dits believed that it would be blue print for a new econom­ic development plan. Many considered it a roadmap for diversification of the state economy which is primarily based on petroleum.

But the Crown Prince proved all speculations wrong. He prepared a blue print for a complete trans­formation of a closed soci­ety. He wanted his people to taste freedom without compromising on the basic fabric of the country.

Saudi Arabia continues to take pride in being an Is­lamic state. It continues to base its legal system on Sha­riah but, at the same time, it is gradually discarding old dogmas and decadent traditions. Prince Salman orchestrated his reformist movement in such a manner that none of its elements con­tradicted the basic tenets of the religion. As a result, his reforms were readily accept­ed by the high Ulemas (reli­gious priests).

He wanted to shape Sau­di Arabia as a moderate, modern state which should stand tall amidst its global fraternity, where gender disparity and decaying tra­ditions were completely eliminated. Women were given more space in the soci­ety with more opportunities and bigger roles. They were allowed to travel on their own thus ending the culture of being accompanied by a male guardian. They were assigned major positions in private as well as public sector firms. And then came his historic decision to allow women to drive, giving wom­en in Saudi Arabia the free­dom of movement. Then the gates of the soccer stadium were opened for them and they were allowed to partic­ipate in outdoor games.

Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s reforms gave a new thrust to art, music, cin­ema and literature.

Recently, the Saudi Film Council was launched to help develop the Kingdom’s cultural sector. “The launch by the General Culture Au­thority is the latest effort to establish and support new sectors that enhance the so­ciety’s vitality and the econ­omy’s diversity and prosper­ity, under the umbrella of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” the authority’s executive chairman, Ahmed bin Fahd Al-Mazeed, said. It aims at supporting cultural talents and showcasing the King­dom’s cultural diversity.

Similarly, men of letters and cinema critics gathered together and set up a body called “House of Fiction” under whose banner writers and artists discuss fiction and cinema.

Businessmen are already negotiating with filmmak­ers and top technicians in Hollywood and Bollywood to set up modern and well-equipped cinema halls in different parts of Saudi Ara­bia. Filmmaking has already started and the city of Dam­mam is planning an inter­national film festival in the near future.

On the music front, Greek musician Yanni performed to packed halls in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. Many more music concerts are lined up for the rest of the year. Bilkees Fathi, Yemeni pop singer, enthralled the first ever all-women concert in Jeddah.

Music has taken over the cities of Saudi Arabia. If not a concert, then there are small groups of men and women along the beach front who gather together and have their own little concert in which they themselves are the singers and compos­ers. This is happening al­most every weekend.

Foreign workers, who number around 7 million in the Kingdom, are also part of this cultural shift. Indians have their “Bollywood ka Safar” and their Just Music Club organised its first open concert last month. Mushai­ra and stand-up comedies has become a weekly feature in the cities of Dammam and Jeddah. And now, excite­ment is building up among comics fans as Jeddah hosts the second installment of the Saudi Comic Con (SCC). Last year, the event drew more than 22,000 lovers of comics, manga, anime and film. Peo­ple dressed up as superhe­roes thronged the venue as artists met and networked.

There is news about this year’s Comic Con that Netflix will hold a public event for the first time in Saudi Arabia, where famous DC universe characters, including Bat­man, Superman, Green Lan­tern, the Joker and the Flash, will make an appearance,.

The most amazing phe­nomenon is that all of this have been happening very systematically without any fuss or resistance from any quarters.

Saudi Arabia is fast transforming into a moder­ate pluralist society where cultural ethos, modern val­ues and trend will go hand in hand to build a vibrant and developed society.