Saudi king placates opposition with money

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, June 9 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia has defused opposition by spending $130 billion to pump up salaries, build housing and finance religious organizations, an analysis indicated.

King Abdallah, a U.S. ally and one of the world's wealthiest royals, started pouring out billions to placate the public and reward loyal members of the Islamic establishment right after leaders in Tunisia and Egypt fell, The New York Times analysis indicated.

While announcing no political reforms, Abdallah's riches, swollen by more than $214 billion in oil revenue last year, have so far insulated the Islamic absolute monarch from widespread demands for change, although some discontent simmers, the Times said.

Supporting the king has been Saudi Arabia's highest official of religious law, Grand Mufti Abd al-'Aziz al-Ashaikh, who issued a fatwa, or religious legal edict, after Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak fell, saying Islam forbade petitions and street protests.

Clerics have reinforced the pro-establishment message in their Friday sermons, the Times said.

But some critics say Abdallah's strategy of effectively buying off public opinion is unsustainable because it fails to address underlying problems.

The monarchy has not completely escaped calls for change and was alleged to have ordered Saudi security forces to kill a leading Facebook-based protest organizer March 2.

Small protests have since taken place in the capital, Riyadh, and other cities. The Sahwa conservative religious movement called for an elected consultative council. Women organized Facebook women's suffrage and women's right-to-drive campaigns, with a right-to-drive action supported by famous Saudi actress Wajnat Rahbini set for after the jumu'ah Friday congregational prayer June 17.

But opposition organizers have been criticized by clergy as liberal intellectuals.

"They don't care about the security of the country -- all they care about is the mingling of genders," the Times quoted Imam Mohamed al-Areefy as saying in a recent Friday sermon.

"They want girls to drive cars. They want to go the beaches to see girls in bathing suits!" the popular young cleric said.