Many Saudis are seething at Muhammad bin Salman’s reforms

ON DECEMBER 30TH the authorities in Saudi Arabia stuck notices to the shrines in Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest cities, telling worshippers to stay two metres apart, lest they spread covid-19. But Muhammad bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler (pictured), seems less keen on imposing restrictions elsewhere. His men have been drawing crowds to concert halls and fairgrounds in other cities. A government-endorsed rave last month brought together 700,000 young Saudis to dance for four days. “This kingdom is preventing virtue and promoting vice,” says a teacher in Medina’s quiet city centre.