After each attack, Western media and politics constantly pressures Muslims to get used to the Western description of Islam and to adopt a moderate form of the religion. The most criticized sect is that of Wahhabism, a form of “Saudi Islam,” which is said to be the root cause of global terrorism. This kind of speech allows the West to frame its own interpretations of the waves of global terrorism.
But what is “moderate Islam”? Everything points out that Islam is inherently modern and has a tendency to adapt to the social changes that employ the concepts of Ichtihad (independent reflection) and Ichma (consensus of the wise).
In recent months the prince of Saudi Arabia made an appeal for a wave of modernization in his country, including in relation to religion, in which for the first time a leader of Saudi Arabia spoke clearly of a “moderate Islam”. It is of course difficult words to determine Prince Mohammad‘s
true intentions or its impact on the Muslim world. Today, Saudi Arabia’s biggest challenge is to improve its negative image in the West; and these latest statements from the prince might more properly be seen as an attempt to deflect Western criticism of Saudi Arabia.
Another key element is the lack of leadership in the Muslim world. On the one hand, Turkish President Erdogan considers himself a leader, but is in reality a polarizing figure; the king of Morocco as a descendant of the prophet is considered a religious reference in Morocco with a modern vision of Islam; and the Saudis, on the other hand, guard the holy sites of Islam, but fear Turkish influence over Muslims in the West and East.
The recent boycott of a neighbouring country, Qatar, in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, as well as the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has brought much criticism to Saudi Arabia, but the harshest came from Erdogan, has branded these facts as a violation of Islamic values.
Given the challenges Saudi Arabia faces, perhaps Prince Mohammad’s offer to adapt to a “moderate Islam” is an open door to start working on a new vision of Islam, even if it is not seen as a breakthrough in the West. , but something is changing. Now it is the West’s turn to take a step in the same direction to renew the image it has built of Islam.
