Saudis should mourn reflectively

Needless to say, my humble request to King Abdullah was not acceded to. As we pray for the repose of his soul, I have a different wish to table before his successor. My sincere appeal to His Royal Highness King Salman, is to please reduce his country’s daily crude oil output, so that poor countries […]

Needless to say, my humble request to King Abdullah was not acceded to. As we pray for the repose of his soul, I have a different wish to table before his successor. My sincere appeal to His Royal Highness King Salman, is to please reduce his country’s daily crude oil output, so that poor countries feeling the pinch of falling oil prices can survive. Already the Venezuelan President had been to Riyadh to beg your government to stop this global oil glut, because it’s biting hard into his country’s economy.
Many other countries will soon follow suit by going to Riyadh to beg the world’s biggest oil producer to cut down on supply. Before this happens, please Sir, use this mourning period to reflect on the impact of your country’s oil policy on the rest of the world. As the Custodian of Islam’s holiest mosques, the place of Saudi Arabia in the global scheme of things cannot be overemphasized. All Muslim countries look up to your country because of this God-given status.
You must therefore live up to the burden of this leadership by magnanimity towards poorer nations and not by being indifferent to their plight. I pray that Almighty Allah will have mercy on your brother, the late King and also give you the wisdom to rule with care and compassion towards your people and the rest of humanity. Congratulations Your Royal Highness.