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August 4, 2005 |
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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO PRINCE ABDULLAH IBN ABDUL AZIZ AS KING OF SAUDI ARABIA. PRINCE SULTAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ CHOSEN AS CROWN PRINCE AND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER. THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF KING FAHD IBN ABDUL AZIZ GOD BLESS HIS SOUL. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz passed away on Monday following an illness, the Royal Court announced. King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz was the fifth Monarch of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia A statement issued by the Saudi Royal Court televised on Saudi television said that King Fahd passed away at King Faisal Specialized Hospital following a long illness. Following is the statement issued by the Royal Court: With all sorrow and sadness, the Royal Court in the name of Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and all members of the family and on behalf of the nation announces the death of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, who died after suffering from an illness, " said a statement released by the Royal Court. Funeral prayers for the deceased will be performed after Asr (afternoon) prayers at Imam Turki Ibn Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh on Tuesday. The Royal Court also announce the following statement: In line with the fifth article of the basic rule system, members of the Royal Family pledged allegiance to Crown prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz as the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said a statement released by the Royal Court. Following this, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz chose Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz as the Crown Prince in line with the fifth article of the basic rule system. Citizens will pledge allegiance to King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz at the Governorate Palace in Riyadh after Dhuhr (noon) prayers on Wednesday. On the morning of 1st August, 2005, it was announced that King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz had died. This site is a tribute to a great king who, throughout his reign, worked tirelessly for the benefit of his people and the wider international community. In the domestic sphere, he laid the foundations of the Kingdom's modern educational system. As Crown Prince and King, he has overseen the development of Saudi Arabia's infrastructure, a development on a scale and at a pace that is unprecedented. Under his leadership, the Kingdom has become a modern, developed industrialized state, with an educated population well-equipped to face the challenges of the time. In foreign affairs, King Fahd has been indefatigable in supporting the just against the unjust, the weak against the strong. He has consistently argued that lasting peace in any dispute can be achieved only if both parties feel their rights have been recognized, and that the path to peace lies through negotiation based on principles of justice. In providing humanitarian aid, both as Head of State and as an individual, King Fahd has a record of generosity and compassion that speaks for itself. Throughout his life, in the tradition of his predecessors, King Fahd has acknowledged Islam as the foundation of the Kingdom and as the guiding principle for all affairs of state. He has, without compromise, reconciled the demands of the modern world with the precepts and traditions of Islam, demonstrating that Islam is a religion for all times. The Early Years Prince Fahd was born in Riyadh in 1923, at a propitious time when his father, Abdul Aziz Al- Saud, was completing his unification of the land that was to be the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the land which sixty years later would be ruled by King Fahd. By all accounts, the relationship between Prince Fahd and his father was a close one. Clearly, as Prince Fahd observed in his father the qualities that had enabled him to unite the fractious tribes of the Arabian Peninsula into a united country (the Kingdom was formally founded in 1932 when Prince Fahd was 9 years old), so King Abdul Aziz evidently discerned in his son the potential for leadership. The young Prince Fahd must therefore be given the best education the new Kingdom could at that time offer. King Abdul Aziz was determined to ensure that Prince Fahd should be fully versed in the Holy Scriptures of Islam, and in Arab history and culture. Prince Fahd's first formal schooling was at the "Princes' School" in Riyadh, a school established by his father to ensure that his own sons and the children of other leading citizens were well equipped for the challenges that lay ahead. At the Princes' School, Prince Fahd was tutored by men such as Ahmed Al Arabi and Sheikh Abdul-Ghani Khayat. After completing his time at the Princes' School, Prince Fahd then attended the Religious Knowledge Institute in the Holy City of Makkah where he received further instruction from the most eminent Islamic scholars in the Kingdom. In short, by the time Prince Fahd's schooling was completed, he was steeped in the traditions of his society, the teachings of Islam and, through his regular contact with his father, the mechanisms of power and the qualities required to operate those mechanisms judiciously. Prince Fahd's first official visit outside the Kingdom was to attend the inauguration of the United Nations in New York in 1945, as part of the Saudi delegation led by the then Foreign Minister, later King, Faisal. At the age of 30, in 1953, Prince Fahd was appointed as the Kingdom's first Education Minister which is where the story told in this resource begins. It was to be another thirty years before Prince Fahd became King but a summary of some of his duties in the intervening period shows that, by the time his reign began, he had a rich and varied experience of government, politics and diplomacy both at national and international level. EXPERIENCE BEFORE BECOMING KING 24th October, 1945 Prince Fahd was appointed member of Saudi delegation at signing of UN charter 1953 Prince Fahd appointed first Minister of Education and charged with establishing a nationwide educational system 1953 Prince Fahd leads Saudi delegation to coronation of Queen Elizabeth II 1959 Prince Fahd heads Saudi delegation to 33rd session of League of Arab States in Casablanca, Morocco 1962 Prince Fahd appointed Minister of the Interior 1965 Prince Fahd represents Saudi Arabia at meeting of Arab Heads of State in Cairo, Egypt 1967 Prince Fahd appointed Second Deputy Prime Minister 1967 Prince Fahd visits France and meets with former President de Gaulle 1970 Kingdom's first Five-Year Plan launched 1970 Prince Fahd leads Saudi delegation in talks with Britain on future of Arabian Gulf 1974 Prince Fahd makes first official visit to Washington. SaudiUS joint Commission on Economic Cooperation set up 1975 Prince Fahd attends OPEC Summit in Algeria 1975 Prince Fahd makes second visit to France 25th March, 1975 Prince Khalid becomes King on the death of King Faisal 1975 Prince Fahd becomes Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister 1975 Kingdom's second Five-Year Plan launched 19th May, 1977 Crown Prince Fahd hosts talks with President Assad of Syria and President Sadat of Egypt in Riyadh 23rd May, 1977 Crown Prince Fahd visits US to discuss Middle East peace plan with President Jimmy Carter March, 1979 Crown Prince Fahd leads Saudi delegation to Arab Summit in Baghdad 1980 Kingdom's third Five-Year Plan launched August, 1981 Fahd Plan for resolution of ArabIsraeli conflict published November, 1981 Fahd Plan is formally presented at the Arab Summit in Fez 1981 Crown Prince Fahd leads Saudi delegation to NorthSouth Conference in Cancun, Mexico As monarch, King Fahd's first concern has had to be the security and stability of the country. This is the primary responsibility of any Head of Government but, in the case of Saudi Arabia, the responsibility is of paramount importance since the Kingdom is home to the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah and their guardianship is an integral part of the monarch's responsibility. Achieving security and stability has not always been entirely straightforward. The demands of modernization have inevitably created tensions from time to time in a conservative society. Striking the balance between those who wish to modernize as quickly as possible and those who are concerned that modernization could threaten the unique character of the Kingdom has demanded a high degree of skill. In exercising this skill, King Fahd has been helped by the tradition of consultation which permeates Saudi society. There have always been channels for every party to express their views. That has not necessarily helped King Fahd to find solutions but it has made him and his Government aware of any problems and sensitive to the balance of opinion on any issue. In every act of diplomacy, King Fahd has sought to negotiate peace with justice. In the Iraq/Iran war, in Lebanon, in the Gulf war, in Bosnia and, above all, in Palestine, King Fahd has used his good offices to try to find just solutions to intractable problems. Even in the most vexed of issues, border disputes, the Kingdom, under King Fahd, has tried to resolve argument by international arbitration rather than force. The agreement with Yemen on the delineation of the Saudi/Yemen border is a model of the civilized way to resolve such matters. At the same time, King Fahd has never been an advocate of peace at any price. When circumstances have necessitated it, King Fahd has always been prepared to place his authority behind a just cause and devote whatever resources are required to support it. Saudi troops led the way into Kuwait against the Iraqi invasion force and, whenever the Palestinians have needed help, the Kingdom has been unstinting in the humanitarian aid it has supplied. It is difficult to find a corner of the world where Saudi Arabia, under King Fahd, has not made a contribution, either in humanitarian aid (which flows forth as soon as a need is recognized) or in promulgating Islam by building Mosques and Islamic centers and by distributing copies of the Holy Quran. At home, King Fahd's achievements speak for themselves. Those visitors to the Kingdom who have known the country throughout King Fahd's reign will attest to the extraordinary development of the Kingdom's infrastructure, education, health services, agriculture and industry over the last twenty-five years. But King Fahd's legacy at home is not the buildings, the roads, the ports and airports; it is the people who, through education and social services, have been transformed from simple, generally illiterate, tribesmen or traders into literate individuals capable of holding their own and competing in the modern world. Of course the foundations for much of this achievement were laid down by King Fahd's predecessors but the drive and determination to make what seemed impossible happen over the last twenty-five years belonged to King Fahd. As the son of King Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Saud, the legendary founder of modern Saudi Arabia, King Fahd inherited his father's legacy as the guardian of a nation deeply rooted in the Islamic faith. King Fahd was the fifth leader to direct the development of the country from a desert state into a prominent member of the international political and economic scene. Reflecting upon Saudi Arabia's phenomenal progress in the economic, social and political realms, King Fahd remarked: "With the blessing and grace of Almighty God and with the assistance of the faithful Saudi people, we shall continue the welfare march of construction and development and maintain the gains which are reflected by comprehensive achievements in various fields." King Fahd helped design and implement many programs that have shaped Saudi Arabia's progress both at home and in the international arena. As he guided the nation toward a promising future, King Fahd said that he was "confident that a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and people such as the Saudi people who achieved all the goals of the past period, are worthy of achieving the plans set for our future, by God's will". King Fahd attended one of the country's first educational institutions. He was also strongly influenced by his father, King Abdul Aziz, who taught him about religion, history and Arab culture. As the nation's first Minister of Education. Under his guidance, the new ministry laid the foundation for a nationwide school system. Years later, he recalled that in those early days "there was only one secondary school in the Kingdom - in Makkah. The total number of those attending school in Saudi Arabia at that time was only 30,000." Today, more than 5.2 million students are enrolled in eleven universities, over 100 colleges and some 30,000 schools throughout the country. Under successive five-year development plans, the country has placed great emphasis on building its indigenous manpower and has instituted numerous vocational and technical training programs. At the most fundamental level, King Fahd continued to emphasize the importance of education. King Fahd's reign was marked by his great concern for the Saudi people. In his desire to ensure the continued development and security of the nation into the 21st century, King Fahd introduced a series of measures aimed at revitalizing and streamlining the existing political and administrative system. On March 1, 1992, he introduced a new Basic Law for the System of Government, which outlines its goals and responsibilities and defines the relationship between the ruler and citizens. That same year, he restructured Majlis Al-Shura (Consultative Council) to give it a more formalized and efficient mechanism. Its current 150 members advise the King on issues of importance to the nation. King Fahd also promulgated new bylaws for the Provincial System to raise the efficiency of administration of the country's provinces and promote their continued development. Similarly, King Fahd introduced new bylaws for the Council of Ministers the following year. King Fahd's dedication to the nation was surpassed only by his commitment to Islam. As the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah, the holiest sites in Islam, King Fahd personally supervised a series of projects to facilitate the Hajj for the more than two million pilgrims from around the world who visit the holy sites each year. In 1985, King Fahd launched a major project to expand the two holy mosques and the facilities in Makkah and Madinah in an effort to allow a larger number of Muslims to make the pilgrimage in comfort and safety. The expansions almost doubled the size of the Holy Mosque in Makkah to 3.5 million square feet to accommodate one million worshippers and has increased the size of the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah tenfold to 1.78 million square feet to accommodate half a million people. The project cost an estimated 11.2 billion U.S. dollars. King Fahd has also donated funds for the restoration in Jerusalem of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site of Islam, and for the Dome of the Rock and Omar Ibn Al-Khattab mosques. |
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