Views
Prince Nayef was considered to be one of the more conservative, but also pragmatic, members of the Al Saud family. He viewed the potential erosion of the official Wahhabi-Salafi doctrine as a diminishing of the core legitimacy of the state itself and resisted such moves, not from a pronounced sense of religious devotion, but rather a desire to maintain a firm grip on the levers of state power.
In November 2002, Prince Nayef said, "It is impossible that 19 youths carried out the operation of September 11, or that bin Laden or al Qaeda did that alone. ... I think are behind these events." He later proposed that Americans visiting the kingdom should be fingerprinted like visitors to the United States.
According to leaked cables, Prince Nayef argued for a tougher approach than King Abdullah towards then-Yemeni President Saleh in 2009. Leaked cables also suggest that his views on Iran were more sophisticated and comprehensive than those of King Abdullah.
His motto was “no to change, yes to development”. He believed that no change is necessary in Saudi Arabia: “Change means changing something that already exists. Whatever exists in the Kingdom is already well-established; however, there is a scope for development – development that does not clash with the principles of the nation”. In a similar vein, in March 2009, he publicly stated that he saw no need for either elections or women in government.
After visiting Cleveland for planned health-tests in March 2012, Prince Nayef addressed the controversy over the participation of Saudi women athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympic games in London from his residence in Algeria. According to al Hayat newspaper, the crown prince said that women can represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics as long as they do not break Islamic laws. His approval was conditioned on women competing in sports that "meet the standards of women's decency and don't contradict Islamic laws," though even this concession seemed surprising. However, only a few days later, his statement led to other statements by Saudi officials. At a press conference in Jeddah, the head of the Saudi Olympic Committee, Nawwaf bin Faysal, explicitly stated that Saudi women athletes will not be sent to the Olympics: "We are not endorsing any Saudi female participation at the moment in the Olympics or other international championships". He further added that Saudi women taking part on their own are free to do so, and the Kingdom's Olympic authority would "help in ensuring that their participation does not violate the Islamic shari'a law." Though he did emphasize that this was in accordance with a previously stated position, it did seem a rebuff to Crown Prince Nayef.
Read more about this topic: Nayef Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud
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