Khadim Al-Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz leading Saudi Arabia to new heights of achievements and progress while upholding the banner of Islam and Sunnah

Khadim Al-Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has taken, the Saudi Arabian Kingdom to new heights of achievement and progress over the past two years of his eventful rule as the Saudi Monarch while fully adhering to the tenets of Islam and serving Islam and, the Ummah.
King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has earned respect and veneration from high and low for the sagacious manner in which he has steered the ship of state since becoming King, in the very critical period that the region and the world have witnessed during the past two years.
The continuing conflict in Iraq, the continued aggression by Israel against Palestinian Arab innocents and the cries for help from Muslim minorities around the world, have received due attention and dispensation from King Abdullah. In his own, soft-spoken style of diplomacy he has visited all the important capitals of the world to caution against misunderstanding Islam and Muslims and advise the Non-Muslim nations to go in for better understanding through inter-faith dialogue and understanding.
But in proceeding along the path for achieving peace and stability in the Middle East and the world, King Abdullah has been vocal and blunt in telling all the stake-holders that the national aspirations of the Palestinian Arabs must be respected and the Palestinian Arab state with Jerusalem as its headquarters must emerge soon. He has also called for maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq and early pacification and return to peace in Afghanistan.
He has supported the pleas of Muslim minorities the world over to be heard and given attention so that they could also enjoy the human rights as guaranteed by the UN Charter and more so by Islam.
Khadim Al-Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has given his personal attention to the further improvement of the Haramain Sharifain and the arrangements for the handling of the Umrah and Hajj Pilgraims in the Kingdom with the result that record numbers of Muslims from all around the world have been visiting in ever larger number the Kingdom for Umrah and Hajj. King Abdullah has given special attention to the provision of maximum facilities for the Saudi Youth to educate, develop and become productive members of the Saudi Society which maintains its Islamic ethos and adherence to the Sunnah.
King Abdullah has also given special attention to the optimum development of all resources at home for the benefit of the Saudi people while improving ties to the highest level with the Islamic countries and third world countries in the service of peace, progress and prosperity of mankind. Reiterating his faith in upholding the Holy Quran and Sunnah as the governing law of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom when he took over office in August, 2005 following the sad demise of late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz.
He silenced the critics with his performance as the Saudi ruler in the very first year of his leadership of the Saudi nation and brought in, by Divine grace, the highest ever income from exports including oil for the Saudi Arabian Kingdom, expected to range around Saudi Riyals seven hundred billion in the current year 2007.
In the very first year of his rule, he has visited all the regions of the Kingdom and attended several cultural festivals, welcomed VIPs visiting the Kingdom and held very successfully the extra-ordinary Islamic Summit meeting at Makkah Al Mukarramah in December, 2005 which gave the Muslim world the Makkah Declaration as also a pledge for accelerated reform and improvement of the Charter and working of the Organisation of Islamic countries.
On his behalf, the Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz has addressed the 2006 UQ General Assembly session delivering a key note address highlighting the policies of the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aimed at promoting peace in the Kingdom along with economic progress and seeking regional stability and progress along with a message of hope and care for mankind.
Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has also paid state visits to several countries of the world but his visit to the People Republic of China was pace setting because it established new avenues of cooperation between the biggest nation of the world which is China and the leading Islamic world country which is Saudi Arabia. He also deputed Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz to visit Japan and other South East Asian countries. The visit of Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Aziz to Pakistan in February last year followed by the visit of Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz in April, 2006 have also shown the way for the further promotion of bilateral ties with Pakistan.
At home Khadim Al-Haramain has given the Saudi youth a new meaning to hard work and achievement, providing them with expanded opportunities to excel in academic studies and enter practical life with the conviction that they are entering the practical world fully equipped with material knowledge and spiritual orientation based on the tenets of Islam. Khadim Al Haramain has reached out in meeting the youth and ensuring that women are provided full opportunities to develop their abilities and capacities to contribute to national progress - He had a good number of Saudi Arabian women journalists with his entourage in the visit to China.
While providing for greater freedom to work and achieve, Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah has been relentless in his commitment to fight international terror to make the Kingdom and the world a safer place to live in. Seldom has a person taken over the reigns of power with such extensive grooming for the job and with immense challenges faced as Khadim Al - Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz. Having served as the Crown Prince of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom since June 13, 1982 to August 1, 2005, while Khadim Al Haramain late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz ruled Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz was declared King and the Saudi monarch following the sad demise of King Fahd on August 1, 2005 after protracted illness.
The Saudi nation in true Muslim tradition bid farewell to the late monarch in a befitting manner and took its oath of allegiance to the new monarch Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz in ceremonies at the Qasr Al Hakam in Riyadh on August 3, 2005 reflecting in term complete faith as their leader. And in true Islamic tradition the new monarch declared his adherence to the title of 'Khadim Al Haramain' to reflect his own adherence to the concept that the ruler of the Kingdom is truly the servant of the Two Holy Mosques, an honour bestowed on the Kingdom by Allah, the All Embracing.
In this very first act of government as the ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz endeared himself even more to his people, to the Muslim Ummah and also evoked the admiration of leaders and statesman around the world for donning the same title as had been adopted in all humility to Allah, the Merciful, by his illustrious predecessor.
The challenges faced by Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz are many and divergent. The first is to maintain the Islamic ethos of the Kingdom while removing from minds abroad the distorted image of Islam and Muslims, carry on with greater vigor the campaign against international terrorism, seeking for the Palestinian Arabs an honourable peace and state of their own with Jerusalem as the capital, a continued programme for economic uplift and welfare of the Saudi nation, an active role in the United Nations for peace and stability in the region and the world, an active role in the international monetary organisations including the IMF and the World Bank and its ancillaries for a better world economic order where the less developed countries obtain their required share of funds for development, the strengthening of the Organisation of Islamic Conference to meet the modern day challenges, the accelerated movement for integration among the GCC countries at all levels and above all the further strengthening of Saudi Arabian defence working on the Islamic dictum that in strength and preparedness lies the guarantee of national security and territorial integrity.
The stream of world leaders, who called to offer their condolences to Khadim Al Haramain Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz on the sad demise of his illustrious brother an predecessor Khadim Al Haramain King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, also extended him the good wishes and support as the new Saudi monarch. Khadim Al Hararmain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz had actually been officiating on behalf of late King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz in conducting the matter of state and government business in the Saudi and Islamic tradition.
EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING:
Born in Riyadh city in 1924, the year when the founder of the Saudi Kingdom King Abdul Aziz convened a meeting of Muslim world leaders and scholars to solicit their opinion on the first reconstruction of the Haramain Sharifain during Saudi rule, Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received special attention from his illustrious father King Abdul Aziz and had the benefit of being taught by a number, of leading scholars and intellectuals of the Islamic faith. This helped broaden his vision.
He also acquired many virtues of his illustrious father including a sharp insight into Arabian history, the traditions and customs of the tribes of Arabia, sincerity of purpose with a great appetite for knowledge and learning, love for his countrymen and for the Ummah. Along with these virtues and understanding he cultivated his own wisdom and self discipline. He also showed a flair for horse riding and the promotion of cultural events that manifest the Arab and Islamic traditions and qualities of the Saudi people in unison with the Muslim Ummah.
Having served in different capacities he assumed the command of the Saudi National Guards in 1962 and ensured the building or this auxiliary national defence force in so excellent a manner that it became the most reliable line of defence for the Saudi Arabian Kingdom after the regular armed forces. The National Guards as an auxiliary force showed their mettle and prowess in the defence of the Kingdom during the 1990-91 Kuwait crisis when Saddam's Iraq over-ran Kuwait till its liberation in February, 1991.
The National Guards also perform exemplary services during the Hajj season and in all cases of emergencies including the latest multidimensional Saudi Arabian fight against international terror.
As the Commander of the National Guards, Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz ensured the provision of the highest standards of training for the force, as also proper education, medical and housing facilities. He has also encouraged several cultural events including the annual Al-Janadiriyah National Festival for Culture and Heritage.