During the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in December 2011, the late King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz surprised other GCC leaders with an extremely passionate call to make the 30-year-old council “a full-fledged union”. “It is high time we did that,” the late Monarch said in his famous frail but firm voice. “Our [Gulf] people are expecting it.” This was the typical King Abdullah, who died on Thursday night at the age of 90. Honest, frank and a strong believer in the unity of the Gulf people. And that’s why he was mourned so fervently by the Gulf people. And that is why he will be missed not just as Saudi monarch but also as a visionary Arab leader.
The late King took over the his country 10 years ago, with a plan to turn it into a modern kingdom. He spent the next decade doing just that, despite the resistance of some of the conservative elements in the political and religious establishments. He was a champion of women’s education. He established scholarship funds and extended them to female graduates.
He established a centre for national dialogue to bridge the gap between the various segments of the vast kingdom. He also created an international centre for dialogue between the different world civilisations and religions after the tragic September 11 attacks in New York and Washington. He will be remembered as a reformer internally and a strong Arab nationalist regionally. Palestine and other Arab causes were on the top of his priorities. His successor, King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, reaffirmed that yesterday and vowed to stay the course.
“We will continue, with God’s grace and strength, committed to the true approach which was followed by this state since its inception at the hands of the founder, King Abdul Aziz and at the hands of his sons after him. We will never deviate from this approach,” the new King said in his first speech.
The quick and smooth succession, by which Prince Salman was declared King and Prince Muqrin Bin Abdul Aziz named Crown Prince is a strong sign of stability and confidence. Like the new King said, Saudi policy has been consistent since the creation of the kingdom in the early 20th century. All the subsequent monarchs managed not only to preserve the leading role of Saudi Arabia in the region and globally but also act on it. The region today is at a very critical stage. Many of its states are plagued by civil strife and some are even on the verge of disintegration. Countries like Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen represent a challenge to the new Saudi leadership. And with the way the Saudi succession went, the Arabs have been assured that Riyadh will continue to shoulder its responsibility in leading the Arab League efforts to restore stability and help the peoples of the region overcome the current plight. The world has also been assured that Saudi foreign policy as well as economic policy, especially with regard to oil, will stay the course under the leadership of King Salman.
But today, it is time to mourn and remember a man who was noble monarch, a father to his people and a champion of reforms and modernity. A man who was a great believer in Arab unity and Muslim causes. Shortly before he went into his latest illness, King Abdullah managed to patch up a very serious dispute among Gulf states. The dispute was described at the time as the most serious in GCC history. Three Gulf states had withdrawn their envoys from Qatar because of Doha’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. King Abdullah insisted that the dispute be settled on the spot at the summit he hosted late last year in Riyadh. His strong commitment to the unity of the GCC saved the group and made it stronger than ever. May his soul rest in peace. We will miss him.
