Time for Saudi critics in UK press to cast prejudice aside Jonathan Gornall Short Url https://arab.news/y9jcc A series of momentous social and economic reforms has seen Saudi Arabia evolve faster in the past few years than it has in decades. Women have been freed to drive, the long-standing ban on cinemas has been lifted, a series of economic and social reforms designed to diversify the country’s economy have been launched, and the once inward-looking Kingdom is opening up to the world. One would imagine that the Western media, which has for so long looked askance at the Kingdom, convinced that behind the walls of the spiritual home of Islam lurked implacable opposition to the Western way of life, would welcome the changes with open arms. But no. Nothing Saudi Arabia does, it seems, can be reported, especially in the UK, unless through a prism of snide cynicism and suspicion.