Due to the political challenges from inside and being under the pressure from mass media because of supporting terrorism and extremism, Saudi Arabia decided to bring some change and reforms in the country.
From 1970 till now, the government have supported and backed the extremists and functioned as a founder of such terrorist groups. [1] Now they have decided not only to put an end to such reactionary movements, but also to fight the extremists. It seems that the country is faced with threats from inside and outside which forced the government to bring reforms in Saudi Arabia. [2] Although, Saudi Arabia tries to build up a new and good reputation, nobody forgets the crimes that they committed and still are committing in the Middle East. Many innocent Muslims lost their lives in terrorist attacks which were supported by the government in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and still defenseless Muslims of Yemen are being killed by Saudi Arabia’s aircrafts and missiles. It, also, seems that extremism does not support their policies anymore rather it issues threats to the government. Firing thousands of Imams from their mosques and having the plan to change the educational system [3] could be explained by these facts that the government has to response to the internal and external threats. Indeed, they want to put the burden of all crimes on the shoulder of the extremists.
[1] See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/29/what-is-wahhabism-the-reactionary-branch-of-islam-said-to-be-the/
[2] See: http://www.newsweek.com/why-saudi-arabia-suddenly-wants-fight-extremism-692234
[3] See: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1174721/saudi-arabia