Is Saudi Arabia’s ruling family at last moving toward liberalization of its draconian Islamic fundamentalism?  There is a very long way to go, but this is an encouraging sign: The Saudi government issued new regulations for the religious police operating in the state Tuesday, taking away the organization's authority to arrest and persecute citizens for not adhering to Sharia law in their daily lives. The unprecedented Saudi move came as a result of growing local criticism of the police and the way it performs its role as the defender of Sharia law in the state. According to a statement explaining the new regulations, the religious police is "an independent body, which has organizational relations with the prime minister." According to the report, the religious police (aka the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice) are now supposed to report drug offenses to the regular police.  Other infractions against sharia...(Read Full Post)