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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/opinion/04fri2.html
Saudi Arabia's Promised Reforms
[New York Times] Editorial - The detention last month of an outspoken Saudi blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, is an act of thoroughly modern despotism and one King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia should immediately overrule. If King Abdullah is really serious about reforming his kingdom's legal system, as he has indicated that he is, then he must change not only the Sharia-based courts but also the organs of state security that silence critics in his name. Defenders of the existing Saudi system argue that change in this traditional society must come slowly. Many Saudis are clearly eager for more and faster change. King Abdullah must understand that cruelty, sex discrimination, and censorship cannot be part of a modern legal system or a country that wants to participate in the modern world. When President Bush visits Saudi Arabia this month, he should remind the king of that.