Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, first mentioned the phrase “moderate Islam” during the Future Initiative Forum in October 2017. Since then, the phrase has represented the Kingdom’s changed approach towards religion in its attempt to open up the country for international tourism and investors. This has been largely due to “Vision 2030”, a roadmap to post-oil diversification, which requires relaxing social and cultural norms in order to introduce fast-paced change. “Moderate Islam” signifies Saudi Arabia’s shift from the traditional religious role it has played domestically and with the wider Muslim world. Since 2017, the phrase has been constantly contrasted with the Sahwa era (Islamic Awakening) which limited social freedom and was considered the culprit of extremist thought. As a result, “moderate Islam” became a tool which allowed wider social and cultural normalization even if it failed to provide a genuine and progressive understanding of the term. Moreover, “moderate Islam” has not only been an attempt to normalize change, but to re-define social behavior deemed appropriate for the newly emerged Saudi identity. For example, the push for “moderation” has been widely used to limit public demands for civil rights by labeling feminism as a form of extremism. The purpose of this paper is to examine the state’s new construction of “moderate Islam” and the effects it has on the religious discourse. It will further explore the implications of the term on the social scene in light of the ongoing inconsistencies that resulted from the rapid opening of the country. The paper makes this argument by evaluating how the state utilizes local and global events to promote itself outside the traditional religious role it has played in the past. The characterizations of moderate Muslims will also be examined through analyzing the religious discourse over the past three years.