The Death of a King
On August 1st, The King of Saudi Arabia, or as everyone here called him, King Fahd, died. Not much was known about him until after he died, when every news channel began broadcasting his life’s story, but he really did do some important things for the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for future reference). In the most conservative and strict Islamic country in the world, he stood out as a liberal voice among harsh hardline critics, embracing America’s involvement in the world, incorporating what he could with traditional beliefs. Although it did not seem like he was acting in the best interest of his people, the KSA would most definitely not be where it is today without his leadership. Anyways, if you want to learn more about King Fahd, just watch the news, haha.
Immediately after the announcement of the King’s death was made, radio and television stations all across the Middle East immediately cut to prayers, and broadcasted nothing but for days in order to pay respect to the dead. I think its cool how this was done, even by countries with less than sparkling relations with Saudi Arabia, as it shows a certain amount of mutual respect each nation has for each other. Leaders from foreign countries immediately stopped what they were doing, and flew to Saudi Arabia to pay homage to the recently departed King and congratulate the ascending ruler. For a moment, it seemed as if all the trouble plaguing the world and the Middle East were put on hold, so that respect could be paid to one deserving great leader. It was great. The last time a King died, every working man in Saudi Arabia received a bonus month’s pay, so that’d be tight if it happened again, because at $62 per barrel, I’m sure it wouldn’t really be a problem. But then again, the new King had technically been ruling for a while already, so he doesn’t really need to please people to win their loyalty.
King Fahd had been incapacitated for about a decade or so, with his appointed successor and brother the now King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud (81 yrs old) ruling de facto. A lot of people might ask why he would appoint someone so old as the next King, the reason for which I think would be to avoid any competition or jockeying for power among his sons. But I think herein there lies a potential problem for the future. The new King has chosen his brother as successor as well, and as he is 77 yrs old, this could provide for an interesting next few years. Each of the original brothers, all sons of the original founder of Saudi Arabia, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud, is getting older, which means each member of the royal family will begin jockeying for power, setting up members of the younger generation to eventually take over. But as long as shit doesn’t go down while I’m still here, I’m happy :-)
Immediately after the announcement of the King’s death was made, radio and television stations all across the Middle East immediately cut to prayers, and broadcasted nothing but for days in order to pay respect to the dead. I think its cool how this was done, even by countries with less than sparkling relations with Saudi Arabia, as it shows a certain amount of mutual respect each nation has for each other. Leaders from foreign countries immediately stopped what they were doing, and flew to Saudi Arabia to pay homage to the recently departed King and congratulate the ascending ruler. For a moment, it seemed as if all the trouble plaguing the world and the Middle East were put on hold, so that respect could be paid to one deserving great leader. It was great. The last time a King died, every working man in Saudi Arabia received a bonus month’s pay, so that’d be tight if it happened again, because at $62 per barrel, I’m sure it wouldn’t really be a problem. But then again, the new King had technically been ruling for a while already, so he doesn’t really need to please people to win their loyalty.
King Fahd had been incapacitated for about a decade or so, with his appointed successor and brother the now King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud (81 yrs old) ruling de facto. A lot of people might ask why he would appoint someone so old as the next King, the reason for which I think would be to avoid any competition or jockeying for power among his sons. But I think herein there lies a potential problem for the future. The new King has chosen his brother as successor as well, and as he is 77 yrs old, this could provide for an interesting next few years. Each of the original brothers, all sons of the original founder of Saudi Arabia, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud, is getting older, which means each member of the royal family will begin jockeying for power, setting up members of the younger generation to eventually take over. But as long as shit doesn’t go down while I’m still here, I’m happy :-)
posted by Chris at 6:13 PM
1 Comments:
Word, Fahad was tight 'aight!
He did have his short comings but he could have been a lot worse, and just think of where the country was fifty years ago. It has come really far since then, a feat that no other region in the world can really claim. So it is no wonder there are some "growing pains." I was reading an article in Amsterdam about it on my way here and it talked about how the King failed the world. It even hinted that he supported Osama Bin Laden, what a farce. If the author really knew what he was talking about he would know that the Royal Family was right on the top of Osama’s hit list!
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