Saudi Arabia buries King Fahd in humble ceremony
Saudi Arabia buries King Fahd in humble ceremony
Agencies, Riyadh, Jakarta
Muslim world leaders joined ordinary Saudis on Tuesday to bid farewell to King Fahd at an austere funeral ceremony for the man who ruled the oil powerhouse for more than two decades.
In keeping with the strict Muslim traditions of this Gulf Arab state, Fahd was buried in an unmarked grave at the Al-Od public cemetery in Riyadh after brief prayers at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque
His body, draped in a brown robe, was carried into the mosque on a wooden stretcher on the shoulders of members of the ruling al-Saud family.
Mourners were led by Fahd's half-brother and successor King Abdullah, de facto ruler for a decade, and powerful Defense Minister Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the new crown prince of the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom.
The funeral was the final act in a 23-year reign in which Fahd steered the oil-rich kingdom through turbulent decades rocked by wars and Islamist violence but in the last years was forced by ill health to hand over most powers to Abdullah.
The world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, sent a high level government delegation led by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla (not Alwi Shihab as earlier reported) to Riyadh on Tuesday to attend the funeral of King Fahd.
The delegation, including Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab, Minister of Religious Affairs M. Maftuh Basyuni and a number of Muslim leaders, is expected to stay in Saudi until Thursday.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sent the delegation "to pay Indonesia's last respects" to the Saudi king, who led the world's leading oil-producing country since 1982.
The President praised King Fahd for being "a gentle leader, a great statesman who worked hard to deliver progress, prosperity and justice to his people and a force for peace in the region", presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told the Post on Tuesday.
Emphasizing the close ties Fahd forged with the Western world, French President Jacques Chirac and British heir to the throne Prince Charles were due in Riyadh to pay their last respects. Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito was also to attend.
UN chief Kofi Annan paid tribute to a veteran statesman who had attended the world body's inaugural meeting in 1945, while U.S. President George W. Bush telephoned King Abdullah and offered his congratulations.
Arab leaders, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdullah II and a host of other leaders from the Muslim world attended the funeral of a man they have hailed as a great Arab leader.
The simple and austere funeral ceremony was held under tight security at the mosque in the center of the capital.
"Security forces will enforce tight measures along the routes which the convoys of dignitaries will take and at the location of the funeral ceremony," Gen. Mansur al-Turki told AFP.
The late monarch, who carried the title of "custodian of the two holy mosques" in Mecca and Medina, Islam's holiest sites, was laid to rest in line with traditions stemming from the strict Wahhabi doctrine of Islamic law which is predominant in Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf said "King Fahd was a great leader of the Muslim world... He played an active role in the emancipation and betterment of the Muslim" nation.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai praised Fahd for supporting the "jihad" (holy war) against his country's 1979-1989 Soviet occupation.