Brother denounces Prince Alwaleed's media empire

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud’s brother, Prince Khaled Bin Talal, has denounced his entrepreneurial sibling’s media empire and accused Prince Alwaleed of “disseminating vice”.

The media mogul prince also stands accused of violating the rules of Islamic Sharia in Saudi Arabia.

The BBC News website has described the attack as “unprecedented” within the ruling Al Saud family, which has always had divisions, but rarely so public.

According to the BBC’s report, Prince Khaled said he was “forced” to speak out after behind-the-scenes diplomacy failed to force Prince Alwaleed to “mend his ways”.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the catalyst for this rift was the recent screening of Menahi, a film made by Prince Alwaleed’s Rotana media company – and more significantly, the first public film screening in Saudi Arabia in decades.

As we’ve noted before, moves towards liberalising Saudi Arabian society, including cultural shifts such as allowing films to be shown, may count for little in the long term, thanks to the ongoing battles between liberals and conservatives within the power base.

However, King Abdullah is known to support more liberal ideas – but even the support of the ruler does not necessarily count for everything in Saudi Arabia.