Saudi king mourned at burial
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Mourners were silent as one of the world’s richest monarchs was lowered into an unmarked grave amid barren desert scrub, several of his sons climbing down into the hole in the dirt to help guide the body.
No weeping, no wails, in keeping with the austere Saudi vision of Islam where all are equal in death and even a tombstone with a name is an innovation shunned by the Quran.
But the grandeur of King Fahd’s funeral was clear from the parade of Islamic monarchs and presidents who bid him farewell. And more were on the way: Vice President Dick Cheney and other Western leaders were coming to honor his successor, Abdullah, the sixth king of the wealthy oil power.
As gun-toting anti-terrorist forces surveyed the scene, Saudis lined up after the burial to pay respects to the 81-year-old new monarch, a day before tribal leaders, clerics and officials swear loyalty to King Abdullah in a traditional Islamic investiture ceremony.
Saudi and pan-Arab newspapers were packed with poems and tributes to Fahd and vows of loyalty to Abdullah. “Saudi Arabia bids farewell to King Fahd on his way to paradise,” proclaimed a front-page headline on one Saudi daily.
Western leaders – including Cheney, Britain’s Prince Charles and French President Jacques Chirac – were expected to meet with Abdullah separately today to congratulate him and express their condolences for Fahd’s death.
Abdullah, the de facto ruler over the past decade during Fahd’s illness, has worked to seal a bond with President Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks strained U.S.-Saudi ties. He has cracked down on al-Qaeda-linked militants in the last two years and begun initial steps of democratic reform.
A State Department spokesman, Tom Casey, said, “Right now, our main focus is on continuing the good work that we’ve done with the Saudi government and moving forward in our relationship under Saudi’s new leadership.”
The investiture ceremony will seal what the Saudi royal family has been eager to show as a swift and orderly handover of power, the first in 23 years, in a kingdom beset by worries over the future.
The “bayah” ceremony is crucial, a traditional Islamic ritual by which the people personally give their consent to the new absolute ruler. With it, Abdullah – who has been limited by his unofficial status as leader – gains the legitimacy of a full king.
In theory, the ceremony is open to all Saudi citizens to express their fealty. But like Tuesday’s events, it will probably be limited to the most powerful figures – tribal chiefs, the Islamic clerical hierarchy, government officials, princes and businessmen – for security reasons. Saudi Arabia’s third king, Faisal, was assassinated by a nephew during a public audience in 1975.