Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Arabs and the New Saudi King | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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There is nobody more concerned about Arab nationalism than King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz who has been exerting much effort in benefiting the Arabs and improving their situation, even risking his personal and official ties with major countries on numerous occasions to do so. The man long known for participating in the leadership of the country has now become the King of Saudi Arabia.

What does the Arab world expect from a man who now has one of the most important political positions in the region? Such a position has the power to transform the region into a living hell or guide it to realize the Arab dream. Will his policies resemble those of other Arab leaders directed towards war and other challenges? Or will he grant the Arabs all that he dreams of that is security and prosperity? The Arab dream is much more humble than the dreams of others throughout the world. The Arab citizen merely dreams of securing the basics for a stable life and this dream will finally be realized, when the Arab no longer needs to run, hide or immigrate in order to survive.

The presence of a character such as that of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, is the foundation for the concept of a stable Arab world, of which the main aspiration is to abandon the war-torn circumstance that it currently suffers from. The Arab world should be one that endorses local and regional security and pays more attention to basic human needs. Promoting judicious ruling, moderate regimes and peaceful governance that seeks development rather than war is exactly what our region needs presently.

In the history of Saudi Arabia, all crown princes have become kings according to monarchial traditions and nobody has ever attempted to overthrow the regime. One is completely aware of whom the ruler is and who will be ruling after him, and this is the secret behind the political stability and subsequently the reason behind the people”s trust and confidence in the regime. It is also the reason that Saudi citizens are able to trust that the regime will respect the rules, upon which it was established.

The example set by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, in his current post of leading an influential country such as Saudi Arabia, is one of a man who respects the regime. He led the country over the past few years as crown prince to the satisfaction of his older brother, the king. Such nobleness, such an ethical political stance and such a personal commitment is quite a rare combination to find in the Arab political world which has become accustomed to chaos and shows no respect to systems of governance.

From his inauguration, one can see that Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has long been an honorable man. We can remain optimistic and confide in him that during his reign, we will witness a period of prosperity and stability for the whole region and not Saudi Arabia alone. His presence will be the political equilibrium that defends the interest of all Arabs despite their location and strengthens inter-relations within the Arab world.