Posted on 08/03/2005 12:06:50 PM PDT by Graybeard58
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 Wednesday 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-Qaida-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 -- an Islamic tradition known as "bayah" -- 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.
Security was tight during Tuesday's funeral for Fahd, who died Monday at age 84. Security forces with automatic weapons, backed by armored vehicles, lined up outside the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque where a prayer for the dead was held before the burial. The neighborhood was closed off and shops shut.
Security agents in green berets circulated among the heads of states from Islamic nations and Saudi princes who packed the mosque in Riyadh. Mourners were asked to leave their prayer rugs outside as they entered the mosque, where they were given others to use.
Austerity was the theme for the ceremonies for Fahd, who had multiple palaces in Saudi Arabia, Europe and the Middle East. Non-Muslims were not allowed at the services.
It was at the final prayer for the dead, before the burial, where Fahd's influence was clear, with a lineup of mourners that included royals -- such as Jordan's King Abdullah II, the emirs of Persian Gulf nations and the sultan of Brunei -- and presidents of Islamic and Arab powerhouses like Egypt, Syria and Pakistan.
The heads of state and dignitaries crowded the Imam Turki mosque for the prayer, along with thousands of Saudi princes in red headdresses, white robes and their best brown and black cloaks, embroidered with gold and doused with perfumes.
Fahd's body was brought in on a wooden plank carried by his sons, and placed in the middle of the mosque among the crowd. The mourners, including the new Saudi king, stood for the two-minute prayer, some with tears in their eyes, raised their arms and chanted "Allahu akbar," or "God is great."
Before the prayer began, Abdullah sat in a chair in the mosque, greeted by Saudis and heads of state -- including Iraq's Kurdish president and the country's Shiite Muslim prime minister. Some kissed Abdullah's right shoulder in a traditional sign of respect, others kissed his cheeks or shook his hand.
Among them was Saad Hariri, the son of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in February. "This year has been bad. With the death of His Majesty King Fahd, I've lost two fathers," Hariri said, tears in his eyes.
Abdullah and about 300 male relatives, some carrying colorful umbrellas to ward off the punishing sun, gathered for the burial at al-Oud cemetery, a desert plain dotted with piles of dirt marked with uninsribed stones. Under some of them lay other Saudi kings. Fahd's sons lowered Fahd's body, wrapped in a white shroud, into the grave.
Women were not allowed at the funeral or burial. Fahd's female relatives held a "majlis" or "council" to receive condolences from women, in accordance with Wahhabism's strict segregation of the sexes. Fahd had at least three wives and five daughters, in addition to seven sons.
Saudis lined up at the royal court after the burial to honor Abdullah. Businessmen, government agencies and private individuals took out full-page condolence advertisements with large photos of the late monarch. Satellite TV stations seen across the Arab world, many of them Saudi-owned, had wall-to-wall tributes to Fahd.
Wednesday's "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.
When Fahd's death was announced and Abdullah was named king, Fahd's brother Prince Sultan was made the new crown prince -- next in line for succession.
The transition smooths over a potential long-term rivalry between Abdullah and the circle of Fahd's full brothers known as the Sudairi Seven, after their mother. All are sons of Saudi Arabia's founder, Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, who had numerous wives.
The Sudairi Seven dominate the government's most powerful posts. While they will stay in their positions, Abdul-Aziz's grandsons are looking for position, with an eye on succession in the years ahead when Abdullah and Sultan's aging generation moves aside.
Since Fahd's death, Saudi officials have underlined that oil policy -- overseen by Abdullah the past decade -- would remain the same and stressed that production has continued as normal.
But despite the easy transfer of power to Abdullah, the potential for infighting after Fahd's death led benchmark crude oil futures to remain near record closing levels Tuesday, lingering around $61.57 a barrel as traders worried about future oil production from the kingdom.
With oil consumption rising around the world and only a limited amount of excess production capacity available, energy traders are easily put on edge by any geopolitical change, perceived uncertainty or weather patterns in producing regions.
Why and unmarked grave?
"all are equal in death" but not in life even though the man put on his clothes like everybody else, hmn!
The reason is given in the article.
Did he die again?
Now with him dead, do we push for elections?
If elections were held tomorrow in SA, would Osama get elected?
So what is Islam take of wealth anyway?
All muslims are buried in the same type of a white shroud, and I have read that the body is removed from its casket if it is in one and put directly in the soil. "From dust we are made and to dust we return" and the sooner the better, is the Islamic way. I read that King Fhad's body was placed on a board and carried by his sons.
However, Muslims do believe that they are tortured in the grave.
"Volume 1, Book 4, Number 215:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
Once the Prophet, while passing through one of the grave-yards of Medina or Mecca heard the voices of two persons who were being tortured in their graves. The Prophet said, "These two persons are being tortured not for a major sin (to avoid)." The Prophet then added, "Yes! (they are being tortured for a major sin). Indeed, one of them never saved himself from being soiled with his urine while the other used to go about with calumnies (to make enmiy between friends). The Prophet then asked for a green leaf of a date-palm tree, broke it into two pieces and put one on each grave. On being asked why he had done so, he replied, "I hope that their torture might be lessened, till these get dried."
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