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Fahd laid to rest in simple ceremony

Atul Aneja

MANAMA: World leaders, royals and ordinary people on Tuesday witnessed the funeral of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, who died a day earlier, amid signs that elaborate preparations have been made to usher in a smooth political transition in the oil-rich Kingdom.

The Saudi monarch was not accorded a state funeral, as that would not have conformed to the strict brand of Wahabi Islam that the kingdom has adopted. He was, instead, buried in a simple grave that was marked only by a stone that did not bear any inscription. The late King was laid to rest late in the evening in the Al-Oud public cemetery in Riyadh in an austere ceremony following prayers in the 6,000-capacity Grand Mosque in Riyadh where a sea of Muslim dignitaries had assembled.

Prayers at Grand Mosque

The body of the late King, which was brought to the mosque from the hospital where he died, was not enclosed in a coffin, but covered with a brown shroud. Flags were not flown at half-mast since lowering the green Saudi flag is considered blasphemous as it bears a venerated Islamic inscription.

At the burial site, the body was brought in an ambulance and around 50 to 80 close family members, some holding umbrellas aloft, were present as helicopters hovered overhead. The newly-designated King Abdullah led the mourners as the body was lowered into the grave. King Fahd was in poor health since 1995 when he suffered a stroke. Since then, most of powers had been delegated to Crown Prince Abdullah who will now be confirmed as the new King during a ceremony on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer and political stability in the kingdom

is vital for the global economy. The death of King Fahd pushed oil prices to a record high of $ 62.30 a barrel during trading in New York — the highest since 1983.

Responding to the price surge, a senior Saudi official in the United States said that King Fahd's legacy of providing the world with a stable and secure source of energy would not be abandoned. Earlier, foreign dignitaries arrived in the Saudi capital to attend the funeral. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was the first Arab leader to arrive in Riyadh on Monday, and French President Jacques Chirac and Britain's Prince Charles also arrived ahead of the ceremony. Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf were among the heads of state present.

Security was tight especially around the mosque where thousands of security personnel including anti-terrorism squads were deployed. Diplomatic sources opined that the slow process of reform that had begun during the Fahd era was expected to gather momentum under the new dispensation.

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