Saudi Arabia A Modest Step Forward

Fifteen years ago, when King Fahd was still Crown Prince, he pledged to establish a citizens' consultative council upon ascending Saudi Arabia's throne. But after he came to power in 1982, Fahd found ample excuses to confine decision making within a narrow family circle. Then came Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent arrival of more than 500,000 U.S. troops in the region. While President Bush maintained that Desert Storm was not designed to promote democracy in the gulf's oilagarchies, the campaign to liberate Kuwait prodded conservative Arab rulers to broaden public participation.

Last week King Fahd finally introduced modest but significant political reforms. He extended the concept of shura (consultation) beyond the informal tradition of hearing petitions from private citizens. In an 83-article decree, he announced plans to establish a 60-member consultative council, and he also codified governmental protections of personal freedoms for 7 million subjects and 5 million foreign residents. Since the edict also affirmed the absolute authority of the monarch, it neither transforms Saudi Arabia into a model democracy nor positions Fahd as a regional pioneer. The Emir of Kuwait, for instance, has made a bolder pledge: to hold parliamentary elections next fall. Nonetheless, Fahd's decree represents a serious step toward including nonroyal voices in policy discussion.

Tellingly, the first of the articles declares that the reforms are all grounded in Muslim theology. By affirming his devotion to Islam, the monarch hopes to enlist the support of clerics and scholars. Without their backing, Fahd risks losing control of the ideological battleground between progressive middle-class Saudis and conservative religious extremists, who have launched a campaign denouncing secular influences. In recent months fundamentalists have increased their harassment of women who dress "immodestly" and have intruded into homes where people are suspected of drinking alcohol. Fahd's decree bans such actions.

The composition of the new council remains a mystery. It may embrace only technocrats or include religious and tribal leaders as well. "This is just the beginning of a process of building a political system," says Shireen Hunter, of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies. It may create new unpredictability, but it should also reinforce public support for the regime.