Sunday, February 15, 2009

There's a New Sharif in Town

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has shaken up the Kingdom's religious establishment by inter alia dismissing Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ghaith as chief of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which controls the religious police, and replacing him with Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Hamin (or "Abdul Aziz al-Humain" in al Jazeera's romanising of his name).

This was one of a series of personnel changes that King Abdullah has made in the last few days which just might indicate a reformist trend.

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