Saudi Arabia deciding what’s a “normal country”? That’s comedy gold

I suppose when you are the former intelligence chief – not to mention having also been the former Saudi ambassador to the UK and US – of a misogynist, homophobic, medieval kingdom where barbaric punishments are the norm, and where merely allowing women to drive is viewed as some sort of radical form of enlightenment, then Israel might well not seem normal.

In Israel, of course, everyone has equal rights under law, no matter their gender, sexual orientation or, of course, religion. And those laws are made by democratic consent and applied by a globally renowned independent judiciary.

And to a Saudi prince, all that makes Israel decidedly abnormal.

It used to be said that doctors would scribble NFN on their notes (I bet they still do) when confronted by a patient who was, ahem, a few pennies short of a full pound. NFN stood for ‘Normal for Norfolk’. Perhaps Prince Turki was using ‘normal’ in that knowing sense, and was fully aware of how decidedly different Saudi Arabia is to Israel, and not necessarily saying it as a good thing for the Saudis.

Then again, how likely is that charitable explanation? I think we can agree that, in reality, his interview was simply a revealing insight into the mindset of the Saudi governing class, even in an age where it is undergoing what it thinks of as dramatic change. Because the dramatic nature of that change is relative.

Yes, women have been able to drive since 2018. And women over 21 no longer always need a male guardian to get healthcare and education or start a job. But the Personal Status Law (PSL) introduced in 2022 is not some radical loosening of the restrictions on women; it is, rather, a codification of traditional Islamic rules governing women in Saudi law. Women must still, for example, obey their husband “in a reasonable manner” or lose any right to financial support. And if a woman does not wish to have sex with her husband, he must give his consent.

As for Saudi Arabia’s treatment of gay men and women; to call it homophobic barely comes close. Same-sex sexual activity is criminal (with the death penalty available) and arrests of gay people are frequent. The Saudis usually keep details of executions hidden but we know that in January 2022 three men were decapitated after being convicted of “sodomy, same-sex marriage and incitement to paedophilia” according to the Saudi Ministry of Interior, and that followed the mass execution in 2019 of 37 men accused of espionage or terrorism, five of whom were convicted of same-sex intercourse.

In his interview, Prince Turki said: “Saudi Arabia is not considering a normalisation deal with Israel. Should Israel become a normal country with normal acceptance of international law, then Saudi Arabia will consider normalisation.” It’s rare for a senior Saudi to speak to Israeli media, so that in itself makes it significant.

But it would be unwise to take any of this at face value. The Saudis are past masters at saying one thing and then doing the exact opposite, and they are as invested in the idea of an alliance against Iran as ever before, despite their signing a deal with Iran in 2023, negotiated by China, in which both sides agreed “to resume diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies” and promised not to interfere in each other’s “internal affairs”. That was more about the Saudis trying to keep in China’s good books at a time when US policy in the region was all over the place.

We know that the Saudis have a baseline price for normalising relations with Israel and joining the Abraham Accords: security guarantees from the US and a civilian nuclear programme. We also know that Iran considered it more than possible that this would happen. One of the drivers of the October 7, 2023 massacre was Iran’s determination to stop it.

In that context, it really is best to treat Prince Turki’s remarks as comedy. Perhaps we should even be grateful for a little laughter in these dark times. But seriously, please don’t take him at his word.