Renad Ghanem

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Rumors of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s death went viral on Twitter and other social media sites shortly before midnight on Thursday. People were glued to their mobile phone screens and computers in search for reliable news sources. Previously, many reports on the king’s death were circulated only to be denied shortly after. This time, however, people were divided with many confirming the death, while others said it was just another rumor.



After midnight, the news was confirmed from reliable sources such as Prince Faisal bin Turki, Nasr football club president, Fahd bin Khaled, Ahli football club president and later on, Abdul Rahman bin Musaed, Hilal football club president. On their respective twitter accounts, they offered their condolences to the Saudi nation. Official confirmation came shortly after when Saudi state TV officially announced the death of King Abdullah in a press statement, followed by another announcement on the appointment of King Salman as the new custodian of the two holy mosques and Prince Muqrin as crown prince.



Twitter users began mourning King Abdullah’s death with related hashtags in both Arabic and English going viral in a short time as condolences began pouring in.



Renowned Saudi columnist Homoud Abu Taleb wrote on his Twitter account, “For all those who wish evil for the Kingdom, have you witnessed the smooth transfer of power as it happened now?”



Columnist and general manager of Alarab TV Jamal Khashoggi wrote on his Twitter account, “Saudi Arabia is a stable country, saying goodbye to a king and pray for him and greeting a new king and wishing him well.”



Writer Abdullah Al-Jamili said, “This is a crucial time where we all need to be united together behind our leaders and put aside any differences.”



Writer Muhammad Marouf Al-Shibani described King Abdullah as a man of great intentions of reforms. “He transferred these reforms into actions and this made him very close to his people. During his reign as king, he faced many difficulties but managed to overcome them by tolerance and avoiding differences.”



Columnist Yousuf Abalkheel said: “We are surrounded by boiling problems, but thank God we enjoy peace and stability in the midst of this turmoil. The peaceful transfer of power is a sign of this stability.”



A Saudi female student who received a government scholarship wrote on her Twitter account that she is the living dream of King Abdullah, who sent tens of thousands of students abroad on the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship program. She said that she will never forget the great king who gave her and tens of thousands of others an opportunity to get an education. Another Twitter user added, “We should unite the prayer this Friday to pray for King Abdullah and give the new king the strength, truth and justice.”



Another Twitter user said, “Many kings come and go but very few leave a print in the heart of their people like King Abdullah did.” Other users also prayed for King Abdullah who was an advocate of reform and a strong fighter against corruption. Hashem Al-Imam, a Saudi Twitter user, said that he was about to go to sleep when the rumors of his death went viral. He stayed up all night watching different news channels and listening to political analyses in addition to keeping an eye on Twitter for the latest developments.



Abdulraheem Ahmad said this was by far the longest night during which the vast majority of people stayed up to watch news about the death of the king. “I could not sleep and I felt sad for his death but we are all confident that King Salman will follow the steps of his late brother to keep peace and security. We swear allegiance to the new king and we, as a nation, should stand behind our king.”