Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Prime Minister (Arabic: خادم الحرمين الشريفين الملك عبد الله بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, born August 1924[2]) is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on August 1, 2005, following the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. As Crown Prince, he had previously acted as de facto regent and thus ruler of Saudi Arabia since January 1, 1996[3] due to the incapacitation of Fahd by a major stroke. He was formally enthroned on August 3, 2005, but he inherited the title of King immediately after the death of his half-brother.[4] One of his sons, Prince Mutaib, serves as a deputy commander in the Saudi National Guard. Abdullah also serves as Prime Minister and Commander of the Saudi National Guard. He is Chairman of the Supreme Economic Council, President of the High Council for Petroleum and Minerals, President of the King Abdulaziz Centre for National Dialogue, Chairman of the Council of Civil Service and Head of the Military Service Council. Abdullah is the fifth[5] son (out of 37 sons) of King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, to ascend to the throne. His wealth is estimated at $23 billion.[6]
[edit] Early lifeKing Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud was born in Riyadh to Ibn Saud's eighth wife, Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim of the Abde section of the Shammar tribe. She had earlier been married to the 10th Rashidi Emir, Saud, who was killed in 1920. He was given the position of Commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard in August 1962, the position of Second Deputy Prime Minister in March 1975 and the position of First Deputy Prime Minister in June 1982. Abdullah has had over thirty wives during his lifetime, among them Tardi Al-Jorba, Hessa Al Shaalan, Aida, Anud, Malika, and al-Jauhara. He has at least 15 sons and 20 daughters.[citation needed] [edit] ReligionKing Abdullah is a devout Muslim and follows the Salafi understanding of Islam which is a strict Sunni interpretation of the religion based on the teachings of the first three generations of Muslims; by some, although not its devotees, this creed is labeled Wahhabism. [edit] Religious dialogueIn March 2008 King Abdullah called for a dialogue among monotheistic religions consisting of Christianity, Islam as well as Judaism. Abdullah's announcement marks the first proposal from a country where non-Muslims are banned from publicly practicing their faith. Abdullah said the kingdom's top clerics have given him approval to pursue his idea. He says he plans to get the opinion of Muslim leaders from other countries.[7] Abdullah held a conference in June 2008 to urge Muslim leaders to speak with one voice with Jewish and Christian leaders.[8] Abdullah has never made any overtures for dialogue with non-monotheistic religious leaders like Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Raelists and others. [citation needed] [edit] War on TerrorismSince May 12, 2003, Saudi Arabia has faced several serious terrorist attacks, targeting primarily Western expatriates and also Saudi security forces. The attacks have included car and truck bombings as well as raids by gunmen against civilians. Several groups have been linked to the attacks, including the Saudi branches of Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, with the common motivation being resentment of the perceived pro-Western stance of the King and royal family, and their encouragement of Westerners residing in Saudi Arabia. The militants believe that the Prophet Muhammad commanded that non-Muslims should be expelled from the Arabian peninsula. The militants are especially outraged at the presence of the U.S. military in Saudi Arabia, which they see as sanctioned by the royal family. The response of King Abdullah's administration to the insurgency has been a series of crackdowns including raids by security forces, arrests, torture[9] and public beheadings. King Abdullah has vowed to fight terrorist ideologies within the country. On the second anniversary of the September 11 attack on the United States, the then-prince wrote a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, which ended with: "God Almighty, in His wisdom, tests the faithful by allowing such calamities to happen. But He, in His mercy, also provides us with the will and determination, generated by faith, to enable us to transform such tragedies into great achievements, and crises that seem debilitating are transformed into opportunities for the advancement of humanity. I only hope that, with your cooperation and leadership, a new world will emerge out of the rubble of the World Trade Center: a world that is blessed by the virtues of freedom, peace, prosperity and harmony." [10] [edit] PhilanthropyAbdullah paid for the surgery of a pair of Polish conjoined twins which took place at the King Abd al-Aziz Medical City in Riyadh on January 03, 2005. He was given "honorary citizenship", by Polish town of Janikowo, where the twins were born. Abdullah has established two libraries, one in Riyadh (the King Abdulaziz Library) and another in Casablanca, Morocco. Abdullah has donated $50 million in cash and $10 million worth of relief materials for the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake in China. [11] Abdullah donated $10 Billion to the endowment fund of The King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in May 2008.[12] [edit] CriticismOn January 24, 2007, Human Rights Watch sent an open letter to King Abdullah asking him to cease religious persecution of the Ahmadi faith in Saudi Arabia. Two letters were sent in November 2006 and February 2007 asking him to remove the travel ban on critics of the Saudi government.[13] Human Rights Watch has not yet indicated whether they have received any response to these letters. During a state visit to the UK on October 30, 2007, Abdullah was greeted by protesters accusing him of being a 'murderer' and a 'torturer'.[9] Concerns were raised in the UK about the treatment of women and homosexuals by the Saudi kingdom, and also alleged bribes involved in arms deals between Saudi Arabia and the UK.[14] [edit] Relationship with the United States
In October 1976, as Abdullah was being groomed for greater responsibility in Riyadh, he was sent to the United States to meet with then-President Gerald Ford. He again traveled to the United States in October 1987, meeting then-Vice President George H. W. Bush. In September 1998, Abdullah made a state visit to the United States to meet in Washington, D.C. with then-President Bill Clinton. He returned again in September 2000 to attend millennium celebrations at the United Nations in New York City. [edit] See also[edit] Notes
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