AN IMPORTANT STATEMENT – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:   One of our biggest headaches in the Mideast has been the extreme brand of Islam that Saudi Arabia spread throughout the world.  Some 15 of the 19 9-11 hijackers were Saudi.

But there is a change now, at least an announced change.  And it's a good change if carried out.  From AFP:

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday vows to restore “moderate, open” Islam in a kingdom known for its ultra-conservative rule.

“We are returning to what we were before — a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world,” he says at an economic forum in Riyadh.

“We will not spend the next 30 years of our lives dealing with destructive ideas. We will destroy them today,” he adds. “We will end extremism very soon.”

The crown prince’s statement is the most direct attack by a top official on the Gulf country’s influential conservative religious establishment.

Since his sudden appointment on June 21, Prince Mohammed has pushed ahead with reforms. He is widely regarded as the force behind King Salman’s decision last month to lift a longstanding ban on women driving

COMMENT:  If he does what he says, it could transform a good part of the Mideast and a good part of Islam.  We hope the crown prince has a long life, and completes his vision.

It has also been widely reported that there are now regular contacts between Saudi Arabia and Israel, bringing the Saudis closer to the Western orbit.  All to the good.

October 24,  2017