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August 12, 2005 |
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KING ABDULLAH EXPRESSES THE GRIEF AND SORROW OF THE SAUDI PEOPLE AND THE MUSLIM NATION OVER THE DEATH OF THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES THE LATE KING FAHD IBN ABDUL AZIZ. WE AND ALL THE WORLD HAVE LOST A UNIQUE LEADER WHO DEDICATED HIS LIFE TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE PROSPERITY FOR THE KINGDOM AND PERMANENT WELFARE FOR HIS PEOPLE. THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES EMPHASIZES THAT THE KINGDOM WILL BE COMMITTED TO PROCEEDING ON THE WAY FOUNDED BY LATE KING ABDUL AZIZ IBN ABDUL. THE KING PARDONS THE TWO LIBYAN DETAINEES INVOLVED IN A CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE KINGDOM'S STABILITY AND SECURITY. THE SAUDI LEADERSHIP RECEIVES MORE CONDOLENCES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz chaired the cabinet's weekly session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh. At the outset of the session, the King expressed grief and sorrow of the Saudi people and Muslim nation over the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz (mercy be upon his soul) and prayed to Almighty Allah to bless his soul and reward him for the services he carried out including his expansion of the Two Holy Mosques, building of mosques, spreading of the Holy Quran, his efforts in the serving Islam and Muslims and his prominent role in support of right and just causes at regional, Arab and international arenas. ''We and all the world have lost a unique leader who had dedicated himself to the achievement of comprehensive prosperity for the Kingdom and permanent welfare for his people, the support of righteousness, assistance of the oppressed, along with his brave and active contribution to the enhancement of peace, security and stability in the world,'' King Abdullah said. The Monarch emphasized that the Kingdom will be committed to proceeding on the way founded by late King Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud and which was followed by his sons, the Kings. The Kingdom has been adhering to the Holy Quran and the Prophet's Sunnah (Traditions) and has always recognized its great responsibilities as the land of revelation, mission, and commitment to Arabs. It has been one of the most influential countries at various arenas. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Ibn Amin Madani said that King Abdullah affirmed that the Kingdom's policies at Arab, Islamic and international arenas will continue. The King said, ''We are determined to continue the serious and persistent work for the service of Islam, the achievement of all the good for our noble people, the support of Arab and Islamic issues, the enhancement of international peace and security and the growth of the world economy. We pray to Almighty Allah to help us in shouldering and fulfilling the responsibility.'' The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques expressed his deep appreciation and thanks for the leaders and heads of the delegations of Arab, Islamic and friendly countries for their noble feelings, deepest condolences and their stand by the Kingdom which has embodied their great respect for the Kingdom's leadership and people. The Monarch praised the genuineness and nobility of the Saudi people who have been uniting around their leadership and affirming their original unity in its sincerest image and meaning during a period of difficulties and misfortunes. He noted that this noble people should be appreciated and respected, stressing that the work should be achieved for their interests, prosperity, progress and promising future. The Minister of Culture and Information added that the Cabinet reviewed the very important contents of the two speeches delivered by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz last Wednesday on Pledge of Allegiance Day. The Cabinet's members offered their deepest condolences to the King, the Crown Prince, the Royal Family, Saudi people and all the nation on the death of late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The Minister noted that the King ordered the pardoning of the two Libyan detainees who were involved, according to confirmed evidence, in conspiracy against the Kingdom's stability and security. The pardon emanates from the Kingdom's noble principles, which are based on pursuit of unity and of bridging the rift. The King hoped that this gesture will be a positive motivation to unify the ranks of the Arab nation. Then the Cabinet reviewed its agenda and took the relevant decisions: The cabinet agreed to add two new articles to the Anti-Forgery Regulation issued in accordance with the Royal Decree number 114, dated 26/11/1380 H. The cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding on political bilateral consultations between the Saudi and Chinese foreign ministries. The cabinet authorized the Minister of Justice or his deputy to discuss with the Turkish side a draft agreement on Saudi-Turkish cooperation in the judicial field. The cabinet approved renewal of the membership of two businessmen in the board of directors of Railways General Authority. The cabinet approved the final account of the Saudi Development Fund. The cabinet approved 14th-grade appointments including the appointment of Prince Mohammad Ibn Saad Ibn Khalid Al Saud to the office of "assistant undersecretary" at the Ministry of Interior. The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, in the presence of Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General, received Governor General of Australia Michael Jeffery and the accompanying delegation, and Australian ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ian Biggs. He also received Lakhder Ibrahimi, the Special envoy of the UN's Secretary General. On the other hand, the King received US Vice-President Dick Cheney, accompanied by Former US President George Bush, Former US State Secretary Colin Powell and US ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia James Oberwetter. Meanwhile, the King received King Juan Carlos of Spain and the accompanying delegation. They offered condolences over the death of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The audience was attended by a number of princes and senior officials. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and US Vice President Dick Cheney held a bilateral meeting in the farm of the king in Al Janadriyah, near Riyadh. Cheney conveyed to the king greetings of US President George W. Bush and his best wishes to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under his wise leadership. In the name of the president, Cheney presented an invitation to the king to visit the US. In turn, the king sent his greetings to the president. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries and followed up the issues discussed during the recent US-Saudi Summit which was held in the farm of the president in Crawford. The constructive talks between the two sides also covered other issues topped by the Palestinian cause and the situation in Iraq. Also women delegations representing queens, and princesses wives and sisters of kings and princes from Arab and Gulf countries as well as Arab presidents' wives offered their condolences to the Saudi Royal family. Queen Rania wife of the Jordanian King Abdullah II, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak wife of the Egyptian President, Lalla Hasna'a sister of the Moroccan King Sheikha Shaykha bint Rashed Al Maktoom and Sheikha Intissar Jaber Al Sabah offered their condolences. Condolences were also offered by Sheikha latifa wife of Kuwait's crown prince, the Moroccan Queen, Sheikh Fatma widow of Sheikh Zayed God Bless his soul, Sheikh Maryam of Bahrain and the wife of American Ambassador. The wife of the King of Bahrain offered her condolences as well as the wives of the governors of Ra'as Al Khayma, the crown prince of Um Al Quwain, the crown prince of Ajaman, Prince Haya bint Al Hussain and Soha Arafat the widow of the late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan received more foreign delegations who came to express their condolences on King Fahd's death and voice their support for the new leadership. The Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at Al-Yamamah palace princes and senior officials. The monarch also received a delegation of Lebanese businessmen who offered their deepest condolences to King Abdullah on the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. He also received Ulema, sheikhs and a group of citizens who offered their deepest condolences and pledged allegiance to the King and the Crown Prince. The audience was attended by Prince Mishaal Ibn Abdul Aziz; Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; a number of princes and ministers. King Abdullah and Prince Sultan also received messages of condolences from several world leaders including Japanese Emperor Akihito, Bhutan's King Jigme Singhe Wangchuk, Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva and Greek President Carolos Papoulias. The King and the Crown Prince also received messages of condolence from a large number of citizens in different parts of the country. King Fahd died last Monday following a prolonged illness. King Abdullah was quickly declared the new sovereign in a smooth transition of power as the royal family endorsed his leadership. Millions of Saudis have so far pledged allegiance to the new king and crown prince in an unprecedented show of support. Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh and Imam of the Grand Mosque Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais have urged Saudis as well as all Muslims to rally behind the new leadership. Sheikh Saad ibn Nasser Al-Shathry, a member of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars, who visited Sierra Leone recently, told the king that Muslims in the west African country were shocked on hearing the news of King Fahd's death. He said they were happy with King Abdullah's address to the nation, reaffirming his determination to establish justice and implement Shariah. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud received a phone call from U.S. former President Bill Clinton. During the call, the President offered his deepest condolences on the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. On his part, King Abdullah thanked the President for his noble feelings. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud received a phone call from Russia's President Vladimir Putin. During the call, the President offered his deepest condolences on the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. On his part, King Abdullah thanked the President for his noble feelings. funeral prayer for Saudi King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, who was laid to rest in Riyadh on Tuesday, was offered at the grand Faisal Mosque Islamabad on Friday. Immediately after the Juma prayers, the prayer was offered. Thousands of congregants attended it. Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan, Saudi Charge d 'Affaires Abul Nasir Harthy and a number of Saudi diplomats participated in the prayers. Addressing the congregation, Rector of the International Islamic University Islamabad Justice Khalilur Rehman Khan paid glowing tribute to King Fahd for his services to the Muslim Ummah and Pakistan. Rehman announced that a mosque to be named "Shah Fahd Masjid" in recognition of King Fahd's services to Pakistan and the Muslim Ummah would be built in the sprawling IIU premises at a cost of $6 million. The mosque will have a capacity of more than 30,000 congregants. The IIU rector said like Islamabad's Faisal Mosque, built by Saudi funding and named after King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, the Shah Fahd Masjid would be a landmark and identity of the solidarity of the Muslim Ummah. Rehman said donations amounting to Rs2.5 million including his own one hundred thousand rupees had been received in the just established fund. He appealed to Pakistanis in and out of the country and foreign institutions to generously give donations to build the mosque. He said two accounts - one of the local Pakistani currency and the other of the foreign currency - have been opened with the Habib Bank Limited, IIU branch, Islamabad. "Pakistanis equally share the grief and sorrow of their Saudi brethren over King Fahd's death," the IIU rector said. The Muslim Ummah, he said, has been deprived of its great leader. He added that King Fahd rendered valuable services to facilitate Hujjaj (pilgrims), visiting holy places in Saudi Arabia. "The entire Pakistani nation and Muslim Ummah are cognizant of King Fahd's services and special attention that he paid for the welfare of Hujjaj," Rehman said. King Fahd, the IIU rector said, led the Muslim Ummah during a difficult time. That's why there has been a strong relationship between him and the Muslim Ummah, which views him with immense respect, he said. Absent funeral prayers for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz were performed in Jordan, Eritrea, the West Bank and in the Islamic Cultural Center in Madrid. Absent funeral prayers for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz were performed after Friday's prayer at the Saudi embassy and Islamic Cultural Center in London. Following the prayers, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland received British officials, members of diplomatic corps accredited to Britain and groups of Saudi citizens who offered their deepest condolences on the death of the late King. On the other hand, Saudi citizens continued coming to the embassy to pledge allegiance to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. Absent funeral prayers for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz were performed after Friday's prayer in Bahrain, France and Gaza Strip. In Paris, Saudi Ambassador to France Dr. Mohammed bin Ismael Al Al-Sheikh attended the prayers and received condolers at Paris Grand Mosque. Meanwhile Wyche Fowler Jr. chairman of the board, Middle East Institute, Washington and a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia said. The death of King Fahd is another step in the leadership transition taking place throughout the Middle East, as one long-serving ruler after another, from Morocco to Jordan to Syria to the United Arab Emirates, has passed from the scene. Like his counterparts in other Arab countries, Fahd played a pivotal role as a nation-builder and in regional and global politics. As US ambassador to Saudi Arabia from l996 until March 2001, I had a unique opportunity to observe firsthand and appreciate Fahd's leadership before his declining health incapacitated him. The sad occasion of his death allows us to reflect anew on how much the strong US-Saudi relationship and Saudi political stability grew out of his initiatives and policies. From the US perspective, the late king should be remembered gratefully as a steadfast ally who played an important role against communism, for Arab-Israeli peace and for stability in the Gulf. Fahd should be remembered as a modernizer who pushed his subjects to abandon their insularity and join the modern world and as an institution builder. From the late l970s until the fall of the Soviet Union, under his guidance Saudi Arabia was a staunch ally against the spread of communism, witnessed most clearly in the Saudi-US cooperation with the Mujahedeen fighting the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The support that Saudi Arabia now extends to the Middle East peace process relies on initiatives that Fahd proposed almost 25 years ago. Although the hard-line Arab consensus at the Baghdad conference in l979 pushed the Saudis to reject the Camp David accords between Egypt and Israel, the king persuaded the conference not to apply economic sanctions against Egypt in retaliation. In l981, he proposed a settlement for the conflict with Israel (known as the "Fahd Plan," it was presented to the Arab Summit in Morocco in l982) that provided at least a psychological basis for the Arabs to support the current peace process. More recently, Abdullah, as crown prince, building on the king's earlier initiatives, delivered a peace plan to President Bush that recognized Israel and promised normal relations in return for Israel's withdrawal from Palestinian territories. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, in what must stand as one of his most courageous decisions, Fahd invited US forces into Saudi Arabia to help defend the Kingdom and liberate Kuwait. The war effort cost the Saudi government $60 billion. The Kingdom's battle against terrorists on its own soil, aided by strong cooperation between US and Saudi intelligence services, has reinvigorated the historic cooperation between our countries. Looking back over the nearly 30 years during which Fahd ruled Saudi Arabia, first as regent, then as king, perhaps his most important achievement has been the seamless transition of power to Abdullah when his health declined, ensuring that the Kingdom would have its new king experienced and prepared to govern the country at Fahd's death. With his passing the United States loses a friend but gains in Abdullah a leader of integrity, experience, and wisdom and a king committed to continued reforms in his country and expanded friendship with the United States. |
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