Top leaders attend Funeral: King Fahd Laid to Rest amid rich Tributes
Pakistan Times Monitoring Desk

RIYADH (Saudi Arabia): Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd was laid to rest on Tuesday after his body, wrapped in a simple brown robe, was borne from a prayer service by his sons.

President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf, the US Vice President Dick Cheney and other world leaders headed to Saudi Arabia to pay condolences and honor Crown Prince Abdullah's ascension to the throne as 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.

Western leaders — including Cheney, Britain's Prince Charles and France's Jacques Chirac — were expected to meet with King Abdullah separately today, Wednesday to congratulate him and express their condolences for the sad demise of King Fahd.

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."

Investiture Ceremony

The investiture ceremony — an Islamic tradition known as "bayah" — will seal what the Saudi royal family has been eager to depict as a swift and orderly handover of power, the first in 23 years, in the Kingdom.

Tight Security

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 departed soul 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.

Snipers overlooked the cemetery where Fahd's body was buried.

Austerity

Austerity was the theme for the ceremonies for one of the world's richest Monarchs. Ceremonies were simple, despite the presence of royals — including Jordan's King Abdullah II, the Emirs of Gulf nations and the Sultan of Brunei — and Presidents of Islamic and Arab powerhouses like Egypt, Syria and Pakistan.

King Abdullah and hundreds of relatives gathered for the burial at al-Oud cemetery.

Mourners

Mourners were silent as Fahd's sons lowered his body into the grave. The lateKing was wrapped only in a white shroud. His plain brown cloak was removed before burial.

Assemblage

Earlier, the heads of state and dignitaries assembled the Imam Turki Mosque for the prayer for the dead, along with thousands of Saudi princes in red headdresses with white robes.

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 a special prayer for the dead, almost all of them with tears in their eyes.

Funeral Procession

The crowd raised their arms and chanted "Allahu Akbar," God is Great during the prayer. Afterward, Fahd's body was carried back out to an ambulance for a procession of cars to the cemetery.

King 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.

In-depth

Muslim world leaders joined ordinary Saudis to bid farewell to King Fahd at an austere funeral ceremony for the man who ruled the oil powerhouse for more than two decades.

His Namaz-e-Janaza was offered at capital’s Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque after Asr prayers, following which he was laid to rest at al-Oud Graveyard in old Riyadh city.

President General Pervez Musharraf joined the Muslim leaders in offering funeral prayers and paying last respects to Khadim-Al-Harmain Al-Sharifain King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, who had passed away early Monday morning after protracted illness.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, Mufti-e-Azam of Saudi Arabia, led the funeral prayers, attended by the top Saudi leaders including new ruler, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

In keeping with the strict Muslim traditions of this Gulf Arab state, Fahd was buried Tuesday 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 Defence Minister Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the new crown prince of the Gulf kingdom.

The funeral was the final act in a 23-year reign in which Fahd steered the oil-rich kingdom through turbulent decades but in the last years was forced by ill health to hand over most powers to Abdullah.

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.

Satellite TV stations seen across the Arab world, many of them owned by Saudi businessmen, carried live coverage of the funeral after a day of tributes to Fahd’s life.

Thousands crowded in the Mosque, some with tears in their eyes as the special prayer for the dead began.

The simple and austere funeral ceremony was held under tight security at the Mosque in the centre of the capital.

The late monarch, who carried the title of “custodian of the two holy mosques” in Makkah and Madina, 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.

Muslim World Leaders

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.

Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, has called on citizens to pledge allegiance to newly proclaimed King Abdullah and his crown prince, according to a statement published in Tuesday’s newspapers.

“It heartened us to see this marvelous agreement (within the ruling family) on pledging allegiance to Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz as monarch of the kingdom and custodian of the two holy mosques and on King Abdullah’s choice of his brother Sultan bin Abdul Aziz as crown prince,” he said. “We call on Muslims to pledge allegiance to them.”

King Fahd, believed to be aged 84 and married five times, died in hospital at dawn on Monday, after 23 years on the throne in which he led the country through oil crises, wars and the deadly menace of extremism.

Majlis by Ladies

King Fahd's female relatives held a "majlis" or "council" to receive condolences from women.

Saudis flocked to honor King Abdullah, lining up at the royal court after the burial.

Rich Tributes

Saudi and pan-Arab newspapers were packed with poems and rich tributes to Fahd and vows of loyalty to King Abdullah.

"Saudi Arabia bids farewell to King Fahd on his way to paradise," proclaimed a front-page headline on one Saudi daily.

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, had wall-to-wall tributes to Fahd.

Wednesday's "bayah" ceremony is significant, a traditional Islamic ritual by which the people personally give their consent to the new absolute ruler. With it, KingAbdullah — 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.

The Crown Prince

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.●