SAUDI ARABIA: King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's fifth monarch, died early yesterday and was succeeded by his half-brother Crown Prince Abdullah.
The royal court appointed as crown prince the defence minister, Prince Sultan, another of the 52 sons of Abdel Aziz ibn Saud, the ruler who unified the kingdom and founded the dynasty 80 years ago.
A Saudi official said Fahd's funeral would take place today. There will be no mourning period, in line with strict Wahhabi Muslim tradition that unquestionably accepts God's will.
In 1995 King Fahd (84) suffered a stroke which left him unable to carry out his duties which were assumed by Crown Prince Abdullah (81). In addition to becoming king, Abdullah is prime minister and head of the royal family. He is also designated as the "guardian of the two holy mosques" at Mecca and Medina, a title invented by King Fahd.
King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah personify the conservative and reformist camps within the House of Saud.
As a young man, Fahd, one of the powerful sons of Jauhara al-Sudairi known as the "Sudairi seven," was a gambler and a womaniser. As minister of education he secured schooling for girls. But after taking the throne in 1982, he followed three contradictory policies which led to the destabilisation of the kingdom.
He promoted technological modernisation, fostered religious hardliners and deepened the connection between Saudi Arabia and the US.
While Saudi Arabia adopted the latest material innovations, society remained rooted in the past. Conservative clerics imposed social strictures and interpretations of Islamic law and practice adopted in the 18th century by the Wahhabi sect which was one of the monarchy's fundamental props.
These clerics took over mosques and education and radicalised young Saudis. King Fahd promoted the Saudi-US alliance, based on an exchange of affordable Saudi oil for US protection, at a time when Arabs and Muslims were increasingly hostile to Washington due to its support for Israel.
Under King Fahd, Saudi Arabia provided recruits and financial assistance to the US-inspired war against Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan.
Saudis did not question his policies until 1990, when King Fahd agreed to permit the US and its mainly western allies to deploy more than half-a-million troops on Saudi soil, seen as sacred because Mecca and Medina are located within the kingdom.
Osama bin Laden, a Saudi, responded by forming al-Qaeda, the movement which mounted attacks within the kingdom in the mid-90s, US embassies in east Africa in 1998, and New York and Washington in 2001.
Bin Laden's objective was to drive foreign forces from Saudi Arabia.
Crown Prince Abdullah, an only son born in 1921 to a princess from a tribe conquered by Abdel Aziz, emerged as the most influential reformer in the family.
He created the Saudi national guard as a competitor to the regular army so it could not be exploited by rival family factions.
He favours developing close ties with Arab countries and keeping some distance from the US, with which he wants good but not intimate relations.
He reconciled the country with Shia Iran as well as Saddam Hussein's Iraq. This year Saudi Arabia held its first elections at municipal level. Crown Prince Abdullah's backing for reform is limited. In recent months Riyadh has cracked down on reformists.
Radical preachers have also been removed from mosques and schools and the security forces have relentlessly pursued militants operating in the kingdom.
