A Saudi court has jailed the former Imam Kaaba, Sheikh Saleh Bin Muhammad Al Taleb, for 10 years. Ever since Muhammad Bin Salman, the crown prince of the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia assumed power as the de facto administrator, he has been working for the modernization of Saudi Arabia.
Many of the clerics and Imams have criticized the Saudi government modernization drive being led by Muhammad Bin Salman. MBS has reportedly ordered the arrest of several of his critics. Khaleej Online reported that in his sermon, Talib, who also served as a judge in Mecca, derided the mixing of unrelated men and women at concerts and other mixed entertainment events.
In August 2018, Saudi authorities arrested the former Imam-e-Kaaba, judge and khatib, Sheikh Saleh Bin Muhammad Al Talib without giving any official explanation. The reason behind the arrest was that he had been criticizing the concerts, mixed gatherings and reforms in the society. Imam Kaaba was first arrested in 2018.
Sheikh Talib is one of the most prominent imams in Saudi Arabia with a handsome following on social media. Although, after his arrest back in 2018 his Twitter accounts had been taken down.
Saudi Arabia has yet to issue an official statement on the issue.