MBS

• For decades, Saudi kings provided support to religious scholars and institutions that advocated an austere form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism.
• The kingdom enforced strict codes of morality, placing restrictions on the rights of women and religious minorities, among others.
• As a scholar who studies interpretations of Islamic law to justify or contest militancy, I’ve followed these reforms closely.
• In an interview broadcast widely throughout the kingdom, MBS chastised Wahhabi scholars, accusing some of falsifying Islamic doctrines.

Negotiating Wahhabism

• The booming Saudi oil economy developed by Abdulaziz required his son, King Faisal, who ruled from 1964 to 1975, to reconsider the monarchy’s relationship with Wahhabism.
• Abroad, Faisal’s scholars presented Wahhabism as an authentic Islamic alternative to the Cold War ideologies of the U.S. and USSR.
• Wealthy Saudis, these Wahhabi scholars argued, had a religious duty to promote Wahhabism across the globe.

Resisting Wahhabism

• King Khalid, who followed Faisal, continued to favor Wahhabi scholars, particularly while responding to two major challenges in 1979.
• Afterward, Khalid agreed to elevate religious officials who affirmed the Islamic credentials of the monarchy.
• One such Saudi who answered the call that year was Osama bin Laden, who would establish al-Qaida in 1988.
• He has worked quickly to erase those accommodations and, like his grandfather, affirm the supremacy of the monarchy.

A ‘moderate Wahhabism’ for Saudi society?

• Saudi Arabia has announced it will no longer fund mosques and Wahhabi educational institutions in other countries.
• Saudi religious police, once tasked with upholding public morality, saw their powers curtailed.
• In 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, was killed following his calls for a continued voice for Islamist reformers in Saudi Arabia.
• Al-Rasheed argues that the images of a new Saudi society conceal suppression of Saudi reformers.

• CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Aug. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Communications Data Group (CDG) is pleased to announce the completion of an enhanced integration between CDG's MBS consumer and enterprise billing and OSS solution and CheckPoint Solutions, which now supports customer self-scheduling during the sign-up process.
• Touchless scheduling allows customers to quickly sign up for service without speaking to a customer service representative, benefiting both customers and service providers.
• One MBS client had almost 1,000 new customer signups from Checkpoint in 30 days after launching the new integration.
• "This enhanced integration is a perfect example of an empowerment tool," said Jacob Terstriep, Director of Operations at CheckPoint Solutions.

• Utilizing the Calix Cloud Subscriber Services Application Programming Interface (API) and CDG's API, the integration enables the auto registration and visibility of new and updated MBS subscribers and billing information in Calix Support and Marketing Cloud.
• The recently enhanced API improves automation and data accuracy and simplifies the creation and provisioning of subscriber broadband services for providers by reducing manual tasks.
• "We are excited to expand our integration with Calix and committed to creating single-pane experiences for providers and subscribers across the Calix and CDG platforms," said Mike Chalk, CDG's VP of Product Development.
• "CDG and Calix share a common mission to help empower our customers and the subscribers they serve," said Skip Hirvela, Vice President of Sales Partnerships at Calix.

• Segment revenue in the second quarter of 2023 increased by 20% to €114.1 million compared with the second quarter of 2022.
• Segment revenue in the second quarter of 2023 increased by 25% to €49.6 million compared with the second quarter of 2022.
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA1 in the second quarter of 2023 increased 26% to €16.4 million compared with the second quarter of 2022.
• Segment revenue in the second quarter of 2023 increased by 31% to €38.0 million compared with the second quarter of 2022.