Alwaght- The Yemen-based al-Qaeda offshoot has blamed Saudi King-in-waiting Mohammed bin Salman over his “sinful projects,” saying Mohammad bin Salman has “opened the door wide for corruption and moral degradation”.
“The new era of bin Salman replaced mosques with movie theaters,” Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said in its news bulletin which was picked up by the SITE Intelligence Group.
The crown prince has launched a package of the so-called reforms in the ultraconservative kingdom, whose radical Wahhabi ideology has inspired groups such as al-Qaeda. The reforms included allowing women to drive and reinstating cinemas.
The extremist group also slammed an April WWE Royal Rumble event in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
"Disbelieving wrestlers exposed their privates and on most of them was the sign of the cross, in front of a mixed gathering of young Muslim men and women," it said.
"The corruptors did not stop at that, for every night musical concerts are being announced, as well as movies and circus shows," SITE quoted it as saying.
Amid much-touted reports of reforms, human rights groups said last week Saudi Arabia has escalated its crackdown on women’s rights activists, bringing the number of arrested to at least 11 and labeling them “traitors”.
The widening sweep has prompted international outrage, with rights groups saying the crackdown is discrediting claims by the crown prince to be a “liberalizing reformer”.
Amnesty International said "a PR campaign calling yourself a reformer means nothing if you are arresting peaceful activists simply because they are calling for reforms."
AQAP has gained traction in Yemen by taking advantage of the Saudi war on the impoverished Arab country.
More than 14,000 have died in Yemen and the country has been pushed close to the edge of famine during the US-backed war that seeks to defeat the Ansarullah movement and bring Yemen’s former Riyadh and Washington-allied officials back to power.
Saudi Arabia has been placed on a United Nations blacklist over the killing and maiming of children.
Mohammed bin Salman is believed to be Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler and led Riyadh into the war in Yemen.