Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti His Excellency Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh has called for mandatory military service for young men.
“Compulsory military service for our youth is important and required,” he said during a Friday sermon in April 2015.
In the past few years, fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have introduced mandatory military service. Leaders in both countries have said the programs aim to strengthen national defense, while cultivating a spirit of national pride in youth.
In April, Kuwait passed a law that will take effect in 2017 reinstating compulsory military service for young men; the country suspended the mandatory service program in 2001.
Sources: Akhbaar24 News, Al Arabiya, Al Defaiya; Gulf Business