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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.
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