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mmm... MBS has made "reformer" a big part of his persona. He defied the mullahs by allowing women to drive. He opened the movie theaters back up. I would argue that's one reason he's been allowed to consolidate power as much as he has: the progressive left sees him as a bright and shining hope for the region, much like they saw Qaddafi back in the '70s. I don't get the sense that MBS is religiously hidebound. He's big on Saudi culture but fundamentalist Islam doesn't seem to drive him much. He's publicly said dismissive things about the Grand Mosque seizure and does not regard Israel as an absolute, undiluted evil. There's daily flights from Riyadh to Tel Aviv now and a lot of that is MBS being religiously pragmatic.