Would King Abdullah fill the Void?
By Dr Jassim Taqui

WHEN King Abdullah has taken over the reign of power in Saudi Arabia, the Arab and Muslim worlds are in such a state of decline that they have never ever witnessed in their history. There is a wave of resignation and despair in unipolar polity that could pose the gravest danger to the very existence of Arab and Muslim regimes.

Vested interests are combining directly or indirectly with extremists and militants to give a distorted image of Muslims and Islam. The rogue regimes are now using the so-called “ militant terrorism” to justify their hold on power and to further complicate the problems of the Muslims.

Millions of innocent Muslims have been the victim of “ engineered” war against terrorism and the so called Islamic extremism. But the lords of war who produced mass destruction weapons and who use these weapons to kill millions of innocent people escape unharmed.

Under these circumstance, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud emerges. People in Arabia and elsewhere in the Muslim world look with great hope and expectation that he would make a difference due to his reputation as an honest ruler who has great love and affection for the Arab and the Muslim worlds. Hence, Arabs and Muslims are looking with great hope and expectation that he should lead them to safety.

In Arabia, King Abdullah won absolute support from the tribal chiefs , clerics , civilian and military officers and people at large. King Abdullah has acted quickly by releasing large number of prisoners, seeking to strengthen the domestic front. He is also lucky since the hike in oil prices would fetch Saudi Arabia an additional money estimated at 200 billion dollars.

With huge wealth and additional source of income, King Abdullah is expected to modernize Saudi Arabia and change it into social-welfare state. Muslim states, especially Pakistan also look forward to King Abdullah, hoping that he would resume oil facility to Pakistan, which is badly hit by high oil prices.

On the Arab level, King Abdullah has opted for reconciliation and resolving the differences with Arab countries through peaceful means. Thus , five Libyans detained in Saudi Arabia over an alleged plot to assassinate King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz have been released after they were pardoned by the new monarch.

The amnesty came on the same day as Abdullah, who acceded to the throne after the death of King Fahd , also pardoned three Saudi reformists, their lawyer and an Islamist activist.

The pardon followed a visit to Saudi Arabia by Ahmad Kadhafeldam, an envoy of Libyan leader Col Muammar Al-Gaddafi , who came to offer condolences on the death of King Fahd. Evidently, Abdullah’s decision to pardon the Libyans signaled he wanted to resolve any problem Riyadh might have with another Arab country.

The move would be a constructive step toward closing the ranks of the Arab nation. King Abdullah’s amnesty is seen with optimism among the Arab countries . It is expected to help improve inter-Arab ties and also prepare for an extraordinary Arab summit which had been due to be held in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on August 3 but was indefinitely postponed due to Fahd’s death two days earlier.

The move would revive the erstwhile ties between Riyadh and Tripoli. It should be noted that Saudi Arabia was supporting Libya when it was under UN sanctions. And it was Saudi Arabia, which along with South Africa brokered a plan to suspend UN sanctions against Libya imposed over the 1988 bombing of a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Another good news is that King Abdullah has been successful in cementing ties with the United States following a strained period due to the terrorist events of 9/11. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal stated recently that relations with the US “couldn’t be better.”

King Abdullah has helped in easing the problem caused by the hike in oil prices by ordering optimum production of roughly 10 million barrels daily, about 11 percent of the world’s total.

Bush officials desperately need the Saudi oil . U.S. dependency on Saudi oil is greater now than it was before the 9/11 attacks. And that will give King Abdullah more room to hold talks with the Americans to ease things against the Muslims and Islam and confine the US war against the terrorists.

King Abdullah has rightly said that terrorism does not know religion , creed or ethnicity and that the international community should combine to jointly fight terrorism and terrorists.

In this highly polarized world, what is needed is peace. Once the Americans pursue a transparent policy in dealing on equal footing between Arabs and Israelis, King Abdullah would be in a position to boost proven reserves to levels that can accommodate the US’s oil needs.

The Saudis still have a lot of oil left. Saudi Arabia will also continue to dominate world market share for a long time to come. During that time, the US, Western Europe, China, Japan and India’s appetite for oil will continue to grow. The US Energy Department estimates that it will take up to 120 million barrels per day by 2025 to satisfy that appetite. Over one-fourth of this added oil will come from the Saudis.

All eyes are focused on King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. With his temperate mood, quiet diplomacy and huge oil wealth, the new monarch is qualified to lead the Arabs and the Muslims in thwarting the designs of terrorists and their allies.●

© 2005 Dr Jassim Taqui