Does King Abdullah ultimately have the power to overcome the conservatives that hold sway in the Kingdom?
Yes. I think he does. Of course the jury is still out on this issue, but I think he does and I think that knowing this is what is pushing him. He wants to throw Saudi Arabia kicking and screaming into the 21st century. He knows he cannot do that if the Saudi leadership keeps pushing for a very uncompromising stance on Islam. He also knows he cannot act unless the majority of the people are behind him, especially the majority of the elite. So I think the reason he (as well as his advisors, senior Princes and some of the senior civil servants) organized the conference because is because they felt that they had managed to marginalize a fair number of the more conservative elements in the religious establishment. Q: Al Qaeda recently urged its adherence to kill King Abdullah partly in response to the conference. What will the response be within the Kingdom? A: Well, there have been many push backs by some of the leading clerics in the in Kingdom begging the King not to attend the Mecca con
