Riyadh: Many Saudis have been worried that demonstrations and rallies demanding reform, called for after Friday prayers, will cause havoc in the conservative Kingdom.
Worries increased following reports of protests in Shiite-populated Qatif in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia on Thursday in which at least three protesters were injured in clashes with the police.
As hours passed after Friday prayers and atmosphere of calm overshadowed rumours of demonstrations, people in the capital Riyadh began talking about the good weather and the rain that fell in the capital. According to Major General Mansour Al Turki, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, "no demonstrations have taken place in any part of the Kingdom on Friday".
"Yes, there is relative heavy security and noticeable checkpoints in the capital, but, praise be to God, nothing happened," a Saudi in his early 40s told Gulf News.
Observers are saying that the recent decisions taken by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz upon his return to the Kingdom in February, have helped discouraging a large number of Saudis from responding to social networking calls for demonstrations. The Saudi monarch announced the allocation of billions of Saudi riyals for granting housing loans and assisting needy families.
Others believe that the backing of the strong religious establishment of the government ban on demonstrations and the fatwa (Islamic ruling) adopted last week by the Senior Muslim Scholars Commission labelling rallies and demonstrations as 'un-Islamic' have had a major impact on foiling attempts to have people join calls for demonstrations.
During his Friday sermon, the Imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah urged people to be aware of calls for demonstrations, describing such calls as ‘devilish temptations'. The Imam of the Prophet's mosque in Madinah said that calls for protests are serving the interests of the enemies of Islam.
Saudi newspapers on Saturday showed Western reporters talking to security personnel on the streets of the capital and freely taking photographs at checkpoints.
