Saudi-Moroccan spat: Competing for the mantle of “moderate Islam”
NOVANEWS
By James M. Dorsey
Lurking in the background of a Saudi-Moroccan spat over World Cup hosting rights and the Gulf crisis is a more fundamental competition for the mantle of spearheading the promotion of a moderate interpretation of Islam.
It’s a competition in which history and long-standing religious diplomacy gives Morocco a leg up compared to Saudi Arabia, long a citadel of Sunni Muslim intolerance and ultra-conservatism.
Saudi Arabia is the new, baggage-laden kid on the block with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman asserting that he is returning the kingdom to a top-down, undefined form of moderate Islam.
To be sure, Prince Muhammad has dominated headlines in the last year with long-overdue social reforms such as lifting the ban on women’s driving and loosening restrictions on...