Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

Patriotism is a human trait that flows in human bloodstream, and that is blended and balanced with the love of life. It starts with the first breastfeeding of an infant by the mother immediately after birth. It would become more pronounced and entrenched as the baby grows and starts to move around. Then it will blossom when the child goes to school and stand in line with his classmates while the national anthem is sung, and during the time when he acquires knowledge. This would culminate when he leaves the country either to pursue higher studies, go on tours or on business trips or for any other reasons. He will then be eager to return to his country to share his vision and delight in inhaling its air.



These days, the Saudi people celebrated the 82nd anniversary of the unification of the Kingdom and the time when its present name was chosen.



After the victorious entry of King Abdul Aziz to Jeddah, he was addressed as His Majesty the King of Hejaz and the Sultan of Najd. Some senior figures from different regions found it necessary to change this long designation and suggested to the king to change the Kingdom’s name to Saudi Arabia.



King Abdul Aziz agreed and, since then, he became the King of Saudi Arabia. September 23 also became the National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.   



The Kingdom has made remarkable achievements during its long history. Perhaps, security is at the forefront of these achievements. That was missing in the Kingdom before its unification. After that, there have been continuous achievements and accelerated steps toward advancement and progress in all spheres of life without any exception.



What the Kingdom has witnessed during the last decade, especially since King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, came to power, cannot be compared to the achievements made in any previous period. In this period, there has been doubling of development projects, building of economic cities, opening of more schools, institutes and universities and sending tens of thousands of students to pursue higher studies in almost all fields of study in prestigious universities in developed countries.



In modern history, these remarkable achievements are unprecedented and can be compared only to what happened in Japan in the second half of the 19th century during the time of Emperor Meiji. The emperor sent large numbers of Japanese students to advanced Western universities.



That led to the opening up of Japan to the outside world. The Kingdom’s achievements can also be compared to what happened in Egypt during the time of Muhammad Ali Pasha. 



The magnificent achievements made by King Abdullah include the judicial reforms that he ordered to keep pace with the developments taking place in the Kingdom. This was also in line with globalization in which different interests are intertwined and various issues merged and in the process turned the world into a small village. It is no longer possible for any country to live in isolation, unmindful of what is happening in other countries.



Similar is the case with educational reforms wherein efforts were made to cope with the cultural awakening that has been taking place in the Kingdom. Along this line, the King paid great attention to matters concerning women and ensured their involvement in the development process, aside from opening job opportunities for them to raise the families’ standard of living. The King also issued orders to ensure participation of women in municipal elections, both as candidates and voters, and in the deliberations of the Shoura Council.



To eliminate partisanship based on tribal, regional and sectarian considerations, King Abdullah ordered the establishment of the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue. The center aims to bring together those who have different viewpoints and to foster the culture of dialogue, understanding and tolerance. He directed holding dialogues in different regions of the Kingdom.



King Abdullah embraced the idea of dialogue among followers of different religions and cultures to bring their views closer and reject intolerance and extremism. He strove to establish a center for dialogue for all faiths and cultures in the Austrian capital of Vienna.



The King’s outstanding contributions in serving the two holy mosques cannot also be ignored. He ordered the largest-ever expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and a similar expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.



The latest achievement of King Abdullah was his proposal to establish a center for dialogue among various Islamic sects (schools of thought). He presented the proposal during the gathering of Muslim leaders and heads of state at the extraordinary Islamic Solidarity summit convened by the King in Makkah in the last days of the holy month of Ramadan.



He mooted the center as a pulpit for eminent Islamic scholars and jurisprudents to discuss various topics and exchange views in order to bring closer of their viewpoints as well as to spread the concept of tolerance among different schools of thought.



At the time when we celebrate our National Day and highlight the achievements made so far, we should not forget or ignore the challenges before us such as the delay in the implementation of projects, housing problems, and rapid population growth that does not match with the available services.



Apart from these, there is the problem of bureaucratic red tape that stands as a stumbling block in putting into practice the King’s orders with regard to reforms that we should vigorously pursue.

 

Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com.