Saudi King Abdullah dies, new ruler is Salman

(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world's top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam said in an official statement.

King Salman has named his half-brother Muqrin as his crown prince and heir, rapidly moving to forestall any fears of a succession crisis at a moment when Saudi Arabia faces unprecedented turmoil on its borders.

His burial was conducted in line with the traditions of Wahhabism

- the ultra-conservative form of Sunni Islam followed by the kingdom -

where funerals are austere and simple.

King Abdullah's body was wrapped in a shroud and taken to the mosque in Riyadh.... :-[

Protocol permits no official mourning period, government offices stay open and flags remain at full mast.

The reason is that the House of Saud practises one of the strictest codes of Islam

- known as Wahhabism -

in which followers try to emulate precisely the behaviour of the Prophet Muhammad

and avoid anything seen as un-Islamic "innovations".  8)

That means funerals are very austere and puritanical in character :

with a strong impression of egalitarianism in death.....

                             

Holy Incense !  Salman has 12 sons  :-[

King Salman :

Born on 31 December 1935
Son of Princess Hassa al-Sudairi
Governor of Riyadh from 1955-1960 and 1963-2011
Appointed defence minister upon death of his brother Crown Prince Sultan

                                       

I only hope that the latest king will grant women more rights to freedom. Eventually, I would expect him to permit women to drive!
Also, I hope he continues to flood the markets with oil.

Women Drivers are over rated : Chinese drivers are better