RIYADH, Aug 2: Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd was buried in a simple unmarked grave on Tuesday after a brief funeral where Muslim leaders mourned the monarch who ruled a global oil giant for two turbulent decades. In keeping with the kingdom’s austere Islamic tradition, King Fahd, who in life enjoyed enormous wealth and privilege, was laid to rest in a sprawling public cemetery in Riyadh alongside hundreds of other unidentified dirt graves.

King Fahd died on Monday after 23 years ruling the strategic Gulf state which is both the world’s biggest oil exporter and the cradle of Islam. In the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque in the capital, Muslim leaders from across the world joined ordinary Saudis and King Fahd’s successor and half-brother Abdullah to perform the funeral prayers.

The brief afternoon ceremony was devoid of pomp. King Fahd’s body, wrapped in a brown shroud and laid on a bier, was carried out of the mosque and driven to his final resting place in an ambulance. Hundreds of security forces mixed with mourners in the mosque and snipers were posted around the cemetery.”

Abdullah has run day-to-day affairs since King Fahd’s stroke and is expected to maintain Saudi Arabia’s commitment to stable oil markets and its close alliance with the West. After the funeral King Abdullah accepted condolences and expressions of support at one of the royal palaces in Riyadh.

NO MOURNING: Unlike many Muslim states, Saudi Arabia has set no mourning period, in keeping with Wahhabi acceptance of God’s will without question. Saudi flags, emblazoned with the proclamation of faith “There is no God but Allah”, flew at full mast.

Shops and businesses opened as usual in the capital on Tuesday, though the mood among ordinary Saudis was subdued. Ordinary Saudis gathered at the funeral with leaders including Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai.

“He was a great man, a leader of the Muslim nation. I’ve come here to pay my respects,” said Saleh Khalifa, a 50-year-old resident of Riyadh as he entered the mosque.

Western leaders and dignitaries, including President Jacques Chirac of France, began arriving after the funeral to pay condolences. US President George W. Bush will send Vice President Dick Cheney and other officials to offer condolences.

Saudis will pledge allegiance to King Abdullah and new Crown Prince Sultan on Wednesday.—Reuters