Arab News

2 August 2005

In the death of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, it is not just Saudi Arabia that suffers a grievous loss. The loss of the Middle East region and the wider Muslim world is equally grievous. His death removes from the scene a man of vision whose commitment to Arab and Islamic unity was total. The period of his stewardship of the country was marked by a resolve, backed up by consistent action, to further that unity � not for confrontation with any, but for coordinated action with all.

He assumed office at a time of serious challenges facing the region and the Islamic world. The Iran-Iraq War was taking a toll of thousands of Muslim lives and delivering another murderous blow to the concept of Muslim unity. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan presented another challenge. The role the Kingdom played in pushing the Soviet forces out of Afghanistan is well- known. The next challenge, more serious than any, was Saddam Hussein�s invasion of Kuwait. While a shocked Middle East stood uncertain of how it should react, it was Fahd who acted as the central point of the coalition brought together by the United States. While it was President George Bush Sr. who led the coalition, it was the Kingdom�s stand that rallied most of the Arab and Muslim world under one flag.

The disappointment he carried to his grave was that he could not find a solution to the most vexing of all the Arab problems � the Palestinian tragedy. If the proposals submitted by the Kingdom and endorsed by the Arab League offering full peace and normalization with Israel if it withdrew to pre-1967 borders as required by UN resolutions and international law had found acceptance by Israel or the United States, the Middle East conflict and the hate, rancor and violence it has spawned would have been behind us long ago. His resolve to use all means at the Kingdom�s disposal to further the cause of peace and unity was not confined to Palestine or the Middle East. It went beyond regional borders � to Afghanistan, Sudan, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines, Indonesia and so on.

For a person so committed to peace, it was a cruel blow to be blamed by the crowd of �instant experts� for the mindless violence that is now stalking the world. Those who accuse the Kingdom of breeding terrorists because most of those involved in the 9/11 attacks were Saudis and because Osama Bin Laden was Saudi-born are ignorant of the fact that the Kingdom is the primary target of the terrorists and that it has suffered more attacks than any other country in the world. The Kingdom is a builder, not destroyer. The Western media ignore the fact that Saudi Arabia has over the past 30 years spent some 5.5 percent of its GNP on overseas aid. The UN recommended minimum is 0.7 percent, a figure that most developed countries still fail to achieve.

The best tribute that the world � the Arab and Muslim part of it in particular � can pay Fahd the man is to work for the cause he loved so much: Just peace for all.

Reprinted with permission.