The king of Saudi Arabia died early yesterday leaving his country and much of the world at risk from the politics based on religious sentiment that his kingdom has long patronised and financed.
He has been laid to rest in an unmarked grave in the al-Ud public cemetery in Riyadh.
The late King Abdullah has been succeeded by his brother Salman, the royal court in the world’s top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam said in an official statement.
Oil prices jumped in an immediate reaction as news of Abdullah’s death added to uncertainty in energy markets.
King Salman has named his half-brother Muqrin crown prince and heir, rapidly moving to forestall any fears of a succession crisis at a moment when Saudi Arabia faces unprecedented turmoil on its borders.
The rise of Islamic State (IS) in war-torn Syria and Iraq has brought to the kingdom’s frontiers a militant group that vows to bring down the al-Saud dynasty.
In Yemen, the Iran-allied Shi’ite Houthis have all but seized power and plunged the country into the brink of total chaos, opening a space for al-Qaeda to operate. The extremist group waged an insurgency in Saudi Arabia from 2003-06 and nearly killed a top prince in 2009.
The problems in all those countries are being played out against an overarching backdrop of bitter rivalry between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and arch regional foe Shi’ite Iran, and bumps in Riyadh’s key relationship with the United States.
Salman must navigate a white-hot rivalry with Shi’ite Muslim power Iran playing out in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain, open conflict in two neighbouring states, a threat from Islamist militants and bumpy relations with the United States.
Salman takes over as the ultimate authority in a country that faces long-term domestic challenges compounded by the plunging price of oil in recent months and the rise of the IS militant group in Iraq and Syria, which vows to topple his family’s rule in Saudi Arabia.
Oil prices have more than halved since June, leaving the kingdom likely to face its first budget deficit since 2009 and navigating difficulties with other OPEC members that disagree with its strategy not to defend prices.
Prince regent, King regnant, cautious reformer
“His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and all members of the family and the nation mourn the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who passed away at exactly 1am this morning,” said a statement carried by Saudi state television.
Abdullah, said by the Saudi embassy in Washington to have been born in 1924, had ruled Saudi Arabia as king since 2005, but had run the country as de facto regent for a decade before that after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke.
Many Saudis, in a country with a young population, will be unable to recall a time before King Abdullah’s rule, both as monarch from 2005 and as de facto regent for a decade before that.
His legacy was an effort to overhaul the kingdom’s economic and social systems to address a looming demographic crisis by creating private sector jobs and making young Saudis better prepared to take them.
Abdullah pushed cautious changes in the conservative Islamic kingdom including increased women’s rights and economic deregulation, but made no moves towards democracy.
At stake with the appointment of Salman as king is the future direction of the United States’ most important Arab ally and self-appointed champion of Sunni Islam, which has played a pivotal role in the messy aftermath of the Arab spring.
Abdullah played a guiding role in Saudi Arabia’s support for Egypt’s government after the military intervened in 2012, and drove his country’s support for Syria’s rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.
However, Abdullah’s reforms did not stretch to politics, and after the Arab Spring his security forces clamped down on all forms of dissent, imprisoning outspoken critics of the ruling family as well as women drivers and Islamist militants.
As the Saudi population grows and oil prices fall globally, the al-Saud will increasingly struggle to maintain its generous spending on social benefits for ordinary people, potentially undermining its future legitimacy in a country where there are no elections, analysts say.
US President Barack Obama said in a statement: “As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions.
“One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the US-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond.”
Former US president George HW Bush who sent an American army to Saudi Arabia to help repel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1990-91, in a statement described Abdullah as: “a wise and reliable ally, helping our nations build on a strategic relationship.”
In contrast, radical Sunni Islamist militants who want the kingdom’s destruction rejoiced on Twitter and on hard line online forums, with some praying that God make the death of a man they see as a “tyrant” the beginning of the end for Saudi Arabia.
King Salman takes throne
King Salman, thought to be 79, has been part of the ruling clique of princes for decades and is thought likely to continue the main thrusts of Saudi strategic policy, including maintaining the alliance with the United States and working towards energy market stability.
During his five decades as Riyadh governor he was reputedly adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal and princely interests that determine Saudi policy, while maintaining good relations with the West.
“I think he will continue with Abdullah’s reforms. He realizes the importance of this. He’s not conservative in person, but he values the opinion of the conservative constituency of the country,” said Jamal Khashoggi, head of a news channel owned by a Saudi prince.
“King Abdullah was willing to challenge the conservatives, but not to crush them. Salman respected the status quo. He wanted reform but was very much connected to the tribal mentality, the conservative nature of his constituency,” he added.
Crown Prince Muqrin was placed firmly in the line of succession by Abdullah a year ago after serving as the kingdom’s intelligence chief and later an adviser to the king on foreign and security policy.
He promised to continue Abdullah’s reforms, but has also demonstrated a populist edge by demanding banks serve the interests of Saudi citizens more fairly.
In the long term Saudi rulers have to manage the needs of a rapidly growing population plagued by structural unemployment, and an economy that remains overly dependent on oil revenue and undermined by lavish subsidies.
Saudi Arabia, which holds more than a fifth of the world’s crude oil, also exerts some influence over the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims through its guardianship of Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest sites.
Incoming kings have traditionally chosen to appoint new ministers to head top ministries like oil and finance.
In a country where the big ministries are dominated by royals, successive kings have kept the oil portfolio reserved for commoners and insisted on maintaining substantial spare output capacity to help reduce market volatility.
Succession and security
Saudi King Salman pledged yesterday to maintain existing energy and foreign policies and quickly moved to appoint younger men as his heirs, settling the succession for years to come by naming a deputy crown prince from his dynasty’s next generation.
By appointing his youngest half-brother Muqrin, 69, as Crown Prince and nephew Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, as Deputy Crown Prince, Salman has swiftly quelled speculation about internal palace rifts at a moment of great regional turmoil.
In his first speech as king, shown live on Saudi television, Salman pledged to maintain the same approach to ruling the world’s top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam as his predecessors and called for unity among Arab states.
“We will continue, God willing, to hold the straight course that this country has followed since its establishment by the late King Abdulaziz,” he said.
Mohammed bin Nayef becomes the first grandson of the kingdom’s founding monarch, King Abdulaziz, known as Ibn Saud, to take an established place in the line of succession.
All Saudi kings since Abdulaziz’s death in 1953 have been his sons and the move into the next generation had raised the prospect of a palace power struggle.
King Salman also appointed his own son, Mohammed bin Salman, Defense Minister and head of the royal court.
Reputedly pragmatic and adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal, royal and Western interests that factor into Saudi policy making, Salman appears unlikely to change the kingdom’s approach to foreign affairs or energy sales.
Despite rumors about Salman’s health and strength, diplomats who have attended meetings between the new king and foreign leaders over the past year have said he has been fully engaged in talks lasting several hours at a time.
King Salman has previously spoken against the idea of introducing democracy in Saudi Arabia in comments to American diplomats recorded in embassy cables later released by WikiLeaks.
Unmarked grave
In keeping with Muslim traditions, Abdullah’s body, clothed in white and shrouded in a simple cloth, was carried on an ambulance stretcher by relatives to rest in the mosque before being borne to the cemetery and buried in an unmarked grave yesterday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif joined members of the al-Saud family and Gulf leaders, including Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, the Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani and Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, for the funeral prayer at the Imam Turki Bin Abdullah mosque in Riyadh.
King Abdullah, one of the richest men in the history of the world, was carried in a simple white shroud to an unmarked grave in al-Ud cemetery in Riyadh where many of his commoner subjects rest, in keeping with traditions.
Following the evening prayer, King Salman and Crown Prince Muqrin are expected to receive pledges of allegiance from other ruling family members, Wahhabi clerics, tribal chiefs, leading businessmen and other Saudi subjects.
Non-Muslim dignitaries will visit to pay respects to the new monarch and crown prince, and other members of the al-Saud dynasty, in the coming days.
Prince Charles will fly to Saudi Arabia today to pay his respects to the late King Abdullah, Clarence House has confirmed in a statement.
“The Prince of Wales, representing Her Majesty The Queen, will travel to Saudi Arabia to pay his condolences following the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, HM King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,” it said.
In the kingdom’s strict Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam, ostentatious displays of grief are frowned upon: after previous deaths of Saudi monarchs and other top royals, there was no official period of mourning and flags were at full mast.
Despite a surge of sorrowful messages from Saudis on social media, that religious constraint on public commemorations meant there were no signs in Riyadh’s streets yesterday that the country’s long-time ruler had died.
