Ain-Al-Yaqeen - March 18, 2005

		March 18, 2005

THE CLEAR PATH OF THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES IN SUPPORTING ISLAM AND MUSLIMS AND SERVING THEIR CAUSES.
SAUDI ARABIA IN KING FAHD'S ERA OF PROSPERITY AND WELFARE LEADS THE WORLD IN THE FIELD OF FOREIGN AID.

Throughout its own development, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been mindful of its responsibilities in the community of nations, especially in the Arab world and amongst the less developed countries. Blessed with its vast reserves of oil and minerals, Saudi Arabia has willingly accepted the Muslim obligation to share its wealth with those less favored. Although a relatively young country, Saudi Arabia has quickly understood the reality of interdependence which exists between one nation and another.

The Kingdom is, of course, particularly involved with the industrialized nations of the West, supplying much of these countries' energy requirements and importing much of the West's technology. But there is also an interdependence, both moral and economic, between rich nations and poor.

Since the mid-1970s (1390s AH), Saudi Arabia has been a leading donor in terms of ODA (Overseas Development Aid) volume and ODA/GNP ratio: Disbursements from 1975 to 1987 amounted to US$48 billion, second only to the United States of America. The ODA/GNP ratio averaged 4.2% over this period, well above the highest among DAC countries (the DAC average is 0.35%). As a proportion of the Kingdom's oil revenues, ODA has risen from 10% in 1983-1985 to 15% in 1986-1987, and Saudi Arabia's ratio of ODA to GNP has remained by far the highest among all donors. Saudi aid is untied, quick disbursing, and highly concessional, with a grant element of 96% (1986).

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has played an increasingly important role in the past several years in the area of supporting economic and social development plans and programs in Third World countries in general and in Islamic developing countries in particular. The Kingdom allocates a major part of its annual national product to assisting developing countries implement their respective development programs. In some years of the past decade, this assistance has amounted to 6% of GNP, whereas the industrial countries as a group fell short of achieving the modest rate of assistance flowing from developed to developing countries as called for by the United Nations, namely 0.7% of gross national product.

The total non-reimbursable development assistance and concessional loans provided by the Kingdom to the developing countries that are members of the Islamic Conference Organization amounted to about 77,000 million Saudi Riyals. These funds have contributed toward the implementation of economic and social development programs and projects in 35 sister Islamic nations.

Between the years 1973 and 2000 the total amount of assistance offered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the developing countries has reached SR 285 million, 4% of GNP, which is the highest amongst all the world countries.

The Saudi Fund for Development was established by Royal Decree in the month of Sha'ban 1394 AH (1974) and began its operations in the month of Safar 1395 AH (1975). At the time of its inception, the Fund's capital amounted to 10,000 million Saudi Riyals; however, due to the developing countries' increasing need for assistance in order to implement development projects, the Fund's capital has been augmented twice, and now totals 25,000 million Saudi Riyals. Despite the fact that the Fund has been operating for a relatively short time, it has made great strides in the area of international development co-operation. The Fund now contributes to the financing of 276 projects in 61 countries.

The terms under which the Saudi Fund for Development provides loans formulated to provide recipients with the greatest possible help;
the loans are without conditions
funds are made available quickly and easily
repayment terms are generous (up to 50 years with a 10-year grace period)
the outright grant component of such loans can amount to 60% of the total
the cost of loans is generally 1%

At the time of its inception, the Fund's capital amounted to SR 10 billion; however, because of the developing countries' increasing need for assistance in order to implement development projects, the Fund's capital has been augmented twice, and now totals SR 25 billion.

Underlying the Fund and its objectives is the conviction that, by assisting less fortunate countries to develop with grants and soft loans, the Kingdom is helping to realize the ideal of a global community in which self-interest co-incides, and is seen to coincide, with the interests of the planet as a whole.

In addition to the money, which the Saudi Fund for Development has been able to make available, the Kingdom is a major contributor to a number of other regional and international financial institutions established to provide aid to the developing world.

The onset of the drought problem in the Sahel prompted the government and the people of Saudi Arabia to come to the rescue of the African countries of the Sahel afflicted. Donations and grants were extended through bilateral channels for support of reform programs and of economic and social plans so as to ensure immediate and beneficial relief for the African peoples.

During the third Islamic Summit held in the Holy City of Makkah in 1984 (1404/05 AH), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the allocation of 382 million Saudi Riyals for the implementation of an emergency program to assist the following countries of the Sahel affected by the drought in Africa: Cape Verde, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Chad. 15% of this amount was allocated for the provision of large quantities of foodstuffs and their immediate distribution to the afflicted victims. The balance, amounting to 318,750,000 Saudi Riyals was allocated to a special program for digging wells and rural development in the ten countries of the Sahel.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been greatly concerned with the problem of African refugees in Sudan and Somalia, and of the victims of conflicts in Chad. The assistance in money, foodstuffs, medical supplies, and shelter provided to refugees in these areas amounted to more than 170,000 million Saudi Riyals. In addition, the Kingdom donated 122,500,000 Saudi Riyals for the UN's first and second conferences for assistance to refugees in Africa. Some countries of the African continent have been hit by natural disasters such as the earthquakes in the Algerian city of Al-Shleif, the hurricanes in the Comoro Islands and Madagascar, and the ravaging floods in some African countries.

The Kingdom has promptly come to the rescue of the victims of such disasters by providing assistance in money and in kind and by contributing in the reconstruction programs. The Kingdom provided a total of 618 million Saudi Riyals to seven countries: Algeria, Tunisia, Somalia, Comoro Islands, Madagascar and Nigeria.

Due to the persistence of the drought problem in a number of the African countries for several years, growing worse and spreading its ill effects, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques called upon the citizens of the Kingdom to extend aid to their brothers in Africa. Official and national committees were formed in each Saudi city under the auspices of a high ministerial committee to receive contributions in money and in kind from citizens and to ensure that they are promptly delivered to the afflicted African countries. The response of the Muslim people of Saudi Arabia was prompt and generous.

Through 1988 (1408 AH), assistance in money and in kind amounted to more than 325 million Saudi Riyals, including more than 152,120 tons of grains and various foodstuffs, clothing, tents, blankets, ambulances, water trucks, and fuel. It benefited more than 3.5 million victims in Sudan, Somalia, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Djibouti, Comoros Islands and Morocco.

In addition to the Kingdom's intensive efforts to assist the victims of drought and other natural disasters and to support the means of sheltering refugees through bilateral channels, the Kingdom has not overlooked the support of international efforts in this area and has responded to the call addressed by the third and fourth Islamic Summits held respectively in Makkah and Casablanca under the auspices of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to provide assistance to the African countries of the Sahel afflicted by the drought.

The Kingdom implemented the special program for digging wells and rural development in African countries and contributed to several international programs in this field such as the World Food Program, the World Program for Combating River Blindness, the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organization, and the WB-IMF Programs for support of the structural adjustment of the African sub-Saharan countries as previously mentioned.

The World Food Program is concerned with providing food to the needy all over the world, food being a vital element to human survival. Due to this program's importance, the Kingdom has recently extended to this program donations in money and in kind totaling more than 1,245 million Saudi Riyals up to 1988 (1408/09 AH), at a rate of more than 100 million Saudi Riyals per year.

Official statistics show that about 50% of the program's resources has been allocated in previous years to the African Continent because of the persistent drought in many of its countries.

At the beginning of 1981 (1402/03 AH), the Kingdom and the sister Arab Gulf nations established the Arab Gulf Program for the purpose of supporting the UN humanitarian and development organizations. To this program, the Kingdom has contributed about 78% of the program's resources. The program provides assistance to the poorest countries of the world, in particular African countries, through the UN humanitarian and development programs, and has allocated about 40% of its resources to UNICEF.

The World Health Organization, the World Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Labor Organization, the World Food Program, the Environment Program, UNESCO, the Program for Handicapped, the UN Development Program, the High Commission for Refugee Affairs, the World Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Fund for Population Affairs have also benefited from the program.

The program to eradicate river blindness disease and to prevent it from spreading to an area of about one million and one hundred thousand square kilometers. This program was initiated by the IBRD and the World Health Organization, with the collaboration of the West African governments, namely: Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Togo, Burkina Faso. Realizing the importance of such a program, the Kingdom has participated in the international meetings on the mobilization of financial and technical resources for the implementation of this program's three stages during the period 1974-1989 (1394-1410 AH). The Kingdom's contribution to such stages amounted to 92 million Saudi Riyals, representing 8.36% of the total donations of contributing countries.

The UN High Commission for Refugee Affairs Commission was established for the purpose of sponsoring refugees' affairs all over the world. It assists refugees by developing programs aimed at reaching permanent solutions, such as voluntary return of refugees to their home countries, if possible, or their long-term settlement in the local community of the first refugee country, or repatriation to any other country.

The Commission receives annual contributions from the countries of the world in support of its regular budget, as well as donations in support of emergency and special programs. In appreciation of the Commission's humanitarian role, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia makes an annual contribution to its budget, dating back several years.

The Kingdom also donated 105 million Saudi Riyals at the first conference organized by the Commission in 1981 (1401/02 AH) for the purpose of collecting donations to assist refugees in Africa. At the second conference held in 1984 (1404/05 AH), the Kingdom donated 17.5 million Saudi Riyals, and in 1988 (1408/09 AH), it donated through the Commission large quantities of flour to the refugees in Somalia, amounting to 20,000 tons valued at about 30 million Saudi Riyals.

The Asian continent has several areas where tension and armed conflicts prevail; some of its countries have been so greatly affected that their resources have been drained and efforts at development impeded. The unjust Israeli occupation of Palestine and some Arab territories was one of the worst events, as well as the Soviet invasion of the Muslim country of Afghanistan, the Lebanese war, and the war between Iraq and Iran. These distressing events have brought about a number of problems paramount among which are the problems of Palestinian and Afghani refugees, and the victims of war. The persistence of these problems for many years has led to an increase in the number of refugees and to the worsening of their living conditions. The Kingdom has consistently endeavored to support security and stability in the Middle East region and in the Islamic World by various means, while seeking to provide prompt relief to the victims of such events. The Kingdom provides assistance in cash and in kind, in addition to medical assistance to the afflicted and the needy everywhere.

UNRWA was established by the United Nations following the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, for the purpose of sponsoring Palestinian refugees' affairs and providing them with humanitarian and social services as well as for training and creating job opportunities for those who are capable of working.

In appreciation of the role played by this agency and the humanitarian activities that it provided for more than 2 million refugees, the Kingdom has contributed to the agency's annual budget the amount of 4.5 million Saudi Riyals in addition to exceptional donations on various occasions amounting to about 225 million Saudi Riyals dedicated for several purposes, including funding the budget shortfalls, implementation of the programs for construction of refugee camps in Lebanon, and providing educational services as well as relief, food and medical supplies.

On the other hand the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia its Government and non-governmental authorities have collected financial and material donations worth more than SR 2.1 billion for Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The announcement, made by the Higher Commission for Fund-Raising for Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the total financial and material donations extended to Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina through the Commission, the Saudi Government charity establishments and private establishments amounted to SR2,103,869,021 from 1412 to 1421 H.

The report said the total donations extended to Bosnians by the Commission reached SR 1,675,303,727, out of which SR1,429,518,081 were financial donations and SR245,785,646 worth of material donations. Donations extended by the Saudi Government and charitable organizations amounted to SR 428,565,249.

Detailing the official donations, the report said King Fahd's personal donations to Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina tolled to SR 127,500,000 in addition to financial and material donations extended by the Government under direct instructions from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz which totaled SR327,500,000 as well as SR281,250,000 extended by the Saudi Development Bank, out of which SR75,000,000 as a grant and the rest as loan.

The report pointed to King Fahd initiative to collect money for Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was considered the Arab and Muslim world's biggest fund-raising initiative. The report added that the total material donations extended to Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Saudi Government and citizens amounted to 73,812 tonnes and that relief materials distributed to Bosnians reached 109,000 tones and food baskets more than two million.

Currently more than 10,000 orphans in Bosnia and Herzegovina were sponsored by the Commission and 3,300 pilgrims were invited to perform the annual Hajj during seven years from 1413 to 1419 H said the report.

The report said a number of economic and service projects were implemented by the Commission. SR126,718,687 was spent on building of mosques, cultural centres, Islamic colleges and schools, houses for orphans and residential compounds in the city of Pretchiko.

The report said 160 mosques were rehabilitated, including King Fahd Cultural Centre in Sarajevo.

In recent years, the Kingdom has continued to distinguish itself by its unstinting efforts to provide aid to regions stricken by ethnic conflicts, often far from the Arab heartland.

In Kosovo and Chechnya, Saudi Arabia has sustained an aid program, not for days or weeks (while the attention of the world's media were focused on the crises) but for months and years, for as long as the need exists. Plane after plane has taken off from the Kingdom with much needed supplies, while the Joint Saudi Committee for the Relief of Kosovo and Chechnya in Pristina has organized building programs and other assistance on the ground in the stricken regions.

The aid program for these regions has been organized by the Saudi Government but Saudi citizens have themselves made an outstanding contribution to help those driven from their homes by 'ethnic cleansing'.

Throughout its own development, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been mindful of the Muslim obligation to cooperate with those less fortunate and of its responsibilities in the community of nations, especially in the Arab world and amongst the less developed countries. King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz , throughout his time as Crown Prince and King, has accepted this responsibility unequivocally.

Although a relatively young country, Saudi Arabia has quickly understood the reality of interdependence, which exists between one nation and another. The Kingdom is, of course, particularly involved with the industrialized nations of the West, supplying much of these countries' energy requirements and importing much of the West's technology.

But there is also an interdependence, both moral and economic, between rich nations and poor. This belief in a global community in which the interests of all peoples (rich and poor, developed and developing, producer and consumer) should be taken into account, underpins King Fahd's views in many areas, including the provision of aid

In the twenty years from 1973 to 1993, despite considerable variations in national revenues and many competing demands, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided 5.5% of its Gross National Product in overseas aid. Given that the United Nations has suggested 0.7% as the lower limit for donor countries, the Kingdom's contribution has been outstanding.

King Fahd's approach to foreign aid has always been to provide as much as possible whenever it is needed and King Fahd has overseen a continuous program of substantial overseas aid.

The immediacy of response to need is another aspect of King Fahd's approach to aid that is distinctive and worthy of note. Whenever natural or man-made disasters afflict a population, whether in the Arab, the Islamic or the wider world, King Fahd's response has been immediate. By the time the world has heard of the latest incident, the relief planes are on the tarmac at one of the Kingdom's international airports. Whether it is an earthquake in Algeria, Egypt or India, or drought in Africa, or ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, or the suffering of the Palestinians in their occupied homeland, King Fahd issues instructions for the aid to be assembled and dispatched.

The Kingdom's weekly Council of Ministers meetings provide not only a record of the frequency and generosity of the Kingdom's donations but also an extraordinary insight into the Kingdom's priorities. There must be few governments where the Head of State and his Cabinet spend so much time discussing the needs of peoples in foreign countries and allocating financial and material aid to meet them.

It is also the case that while the Saudi Government itself is organizing State relief, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz and many others in the Kingdom add generously to the aid effort from their own resources.

The determination of the Kingdom to support Islam and Islamic institutions to the best of its ability was evident from the formation of the Kingdom by King Abdul Aziz but it was only when oil revenues began to generate real wealth that the Kingdom could fulfill its ambitions of spreading the word of Islam to every corner of the world, of assisting Muslim countries less well endowed economically and of alleviating the suffering of Muslim minorities wherever they might live.

When King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz gave his support, either personally or through his Government, to these institutions, it was also part of his purpose to challenge and expose the caricature of Islam which is widely promoted by sections of the Western media. Islam is a religion of compassion, which has exercised a profoundly civilizing influence on mankind. By ensuring that there should be, where most needed, voices to promote the true teachings of Islam and the contribution of Arab culture and Islam to the history of mankind, King Fahd hoped to counteract and challenge negative stereotyping.

The cost of King Fahd's efforts in this field has been astronomical, amounting to many billions of Saudi Riyals. In terms of Islamic institutions, the result is some 210 Islamic Centers wholly or partly financed by Saudi Arabia, more than 1,500 Mosques and 202 colleges and almost 2,000 schools for educating Muslim children.

With his lifelong commitment to education as the key to unlocking the potential of the individual, it is not surprising that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques initiated a program to establish Islamic academies in some of the major capitals of the world. These academies were conceived in order to provide Muslim children abroad with the opportunity to attend an institution of academic excellence which could reinforce their commitment to their culture, religion and language while at the same time opening constructive dialogue with the societies in which they lived.

In addition to financing Islamic academic institutions and Islamic centers and mosques around the world, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been a leading member of international Islamic organizations. Throughout King Fahd's reign, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has played an active role in all these organizations, using its influence to nurture and encourage unity in the Islamic world.

In the Holy City of Al Madinah stands the King Fahd Complex for Printing the Holy Quran. The Complex is a unique publishing venture. It was opened by King Fahd in 1984 with the aim of printing and distributing copies of the Holy Quran to as wide an audience as possible. It produces the Holy Quran in Arabic and, in translation, in many other languages. It produces the Holy Book as a whole and in sections. When operating a single-shift system, the Complex is able to produce 10 million copies of the Holy Quran each year. On a three-shift operation, the Complex is able to produce 30 million copies.

Since its inauguration, the Complex has produced more than 60 editions, amongst them copies of the Holy Quran in full, sections of the Holy Quran, translations of the Holy Quran, recordings of verses of the Holy Quran, books on the prophetic tradition and biographies of the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him.

By the year 2000, the Complex had printed 138 million copies of the Holy Quran which had been widely distributed inside the Kingdom (through the Two Holy Mosques, other Mosques and Government and religious institutions) and abroad (through embassies, overseas information offices and Islamic organizations). The Complex also produces recordings of the Holy Quran, read by the most respected readers within and outside the Kingdom, in video and audio form.

In a further and much needed initiative designed to make the teaching of Islam as widely and easily accessible as possible, the Complex produced a Braille version of the Holy Quran so that every blind Muslim, anywhere in the world, can have ready access to the Word of God.

In fulfilling the wishes of King Fahd, the Complex has become much more than a printing and distribution operation. It is a preeminent study and research facility for all aspects of the Holy Quran and stands as an authority on the Book of God and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him.

More than 165 million copies of the Quran have been printed up to Safar, 1422H, 2001 at the King Fahd complex for printing of the Holy Quran. A report released by the complex said, of these copies, as many as 142 million copies of the Holy Quran were distributed throughout the world.

Realizing its pioneering role in the service of Islam and Muslims, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to establish the Complex. The foundation stone of the complex was laid by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz in Muharram, 1403 h. He inaugurated the complex in Safar, 1405H.

The complex is spread over an area of 250,000 square meters. It includes a mosque, administrative offices, the printing press, stores, a clinic, a library and restaurants as well as other utilities.

In addition to printing the copies of the Holy Quran, the publications of the Complex include translation of the meanings of the Holy Quran and books of Sunnah (the Prophet's teachings) and the biography of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be on Him).

Arrangements are underway to increase and diversify the production of the complex. The complex has so far printed the meanings of the Holy Quran in several languages including Albanian, Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali, Bosnian, Turkish, Tamil, Somalian, French, English, Spanish, Korean, Persian, Kashmiri, Macedonian, Greek, Thai and Chinese.

The Complex is planning to print copies of simplified interpretation of the Holy Quran. As many as 1,700 persons including Ulama (Islamic scholars), members of the staff of the Universities, technicians, administrators and labours are working at the Complex. The Saudis constitute about 70 percent of the total number of the personnel of the complex. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance undertakes supervision of the Complex.

About two million persons have so far visited the Complex, which constitutes a remarkable Islamic edifice. In line with the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Complex has been providing each pilgrim with a set of the publications including the Holy Quran at exit points in the Kingdom.