Original sentence: Starting in the mid-1970s and 1980s, conservative-puritan interpretations of Sunni Islam favored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (and to a lesser extent by other Gulf monarchies) have achieved what political scientist Gilles Kepel calls a "preeminent position of strength in the global expression of Islam
Edited sentence: Starting in the mid-1970s and 1980s, conservative/strict/puritanical interpretations of Sunni Islam favored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (and to a lesser extent by other Gulf monarchies) have achieved what political scientist Gilles Kepel calls a "preeminent position of strength in the global expression of Islam