An agreement has been signed between Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi leaders and a Vatican cardinal to establish a cooperative relationship.

Significance

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran told the Vatican News website after returning from Riyadh: “This is the beginning of a rapprochement... It is a sign that the Saudi authorities are now ready to give a new image to the country.”

Tauran, a French cardinal, is one of the most senior Catholic officials. He is President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.

Tauran met with the de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and with multiple spiritual leaders.

This meeting followed a flurry of similar gatherings between senior Saudi figures and representatives of other Christian traditions in recent months.

However, the meeting in Riyadh between the king and Tauran is a first between the current Saudi ruler and a Catholic official.

Meeting not widely-reported

Tauran was in Saudi Arabia for a week in the middle of April 2018.

The visit was widely covered by Saudi media but ignored by the English-language press. This was so as the meeting was regarded as cosmetic rather than groundbreaking.

Church-building plans

The final accord signed between Tauran and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdel Karim Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, a leading Wahhabi NGO, paves the way not only for building projects.

It has also outlined plans for Muslim-Christian summits once every two years and for greater rights for non-Islamic worshippers in the Gulf kingdom.

Reputation as intolerant

Saudi Arabia has a reputation as one of the most religiously intolerant regimes in the world.

Non-Muslims are punished for any displays of their religion outside of their homes.

Any Muslim who decides to convert to another faith is subject to a death sentence for apostasy.

Islamic religious law is imposed uniformly on all residents in the oil-rich state, regardless of beliefs.

A dedicated religious police oversees compliance.

Opening up of country

However, an influx of migrant workers to the kingdom in the past decades, mostly from the Philippines, has seen the country opening up.

Many Filipinos are known to be practising Catholics.

There are more than 1.5 million Christians who are thought to be in the country.

Previously, the Vatican had attempted to negotiate for a more visible status for Christianity back in 2008.

Then, it was announced that a potentially “historic” agreement was reached to construct the first modern-day church.

But the plan was eventually shelved.

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Loosening up image

The crown prince has loosened some social restrictions recently, scaling back the role of religious police and permitting public concerts.

But the possibility of at least a cosmetic display of tolerance appears more likely now for the image-conscious Mohammed bin Salman.

He has already abandoned several landmark customs, such as those forbidding women from driving, or requiring them to be under the constant supervision of their guardians.

Photos via Saudi media

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