We Miss Saudi Arabia’s ‘Humane King’

Abdullah May Have Been Slow on His Promises, But He Had to Modernize a Traditional Country Without Tearing It Apart

“I slept and my king was Abdullah. Then I woke up and my king was Salman.”

This is how some Saudis refer to the smooth transition of power after our king, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, died on January 23, 2015. After ruling for 10 years, King Abdullah, 91, was succeeded by his half brother, Crown Prince Salman, 79.

One of us (Talal) remembers seeing discussion of King Abdullah’s death on Twitter, late at night on January 22. The thought made him sad, but Talal consoled himself by remembering that …