JEDDAH,
September 11, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Saudi King
Abdullah bin Abd Al-Aziz has banned citizens from kissing his hands or
that of any member of the royal family, a move seen as a sign of
continuing reforms to turn the oil-rich kingdom into a modern state.
"Kissing
hands is something alien to our values and ethics, and is refused by
free and honest souls," the monarch told delegations of princes,
officials and ordinary citizens at his palace in the Red Sea city of
Jeddah on Saturday, September 10.
"Moreover,
it leads to bowing, which violates God's law as the faithful bows only
to the one and only God," said Abdullah, who acceded to the
throne after the death of his half-brother king Fahd on August 1.
King
Abdullah, who has a reputation for modesty in a family known for
opulence and power, said only a father and mother deserve
hand-kissing.
"Hence
I declare ... my categorical rejection of this, and I ask everyone ...
not to kiss the hand of anyone except their parents as (a sign of)
devotion."
Saudis
kiss the hands of royals when they visit them as a sign of respect and
loyalty, while junior members of the ruling Al-Saud family also kiss
the hand of more senior members.
"Modern
Kingdom"
Ashraf
Kishk, director of the Cairo-based diplomatic center for strategic
studies, described the decision as a sign of continuing reforms in the
oil-rich monarch.
"The
move is not strange to King Abdullah who vowed to go on with reforms
in the kingdom," Kishk told IslamOnline.net.
"It
demonstrates his keenness to turn the oil-rich kingdom into a modern
state devoid of the old-fashioned traditions."
Kishk
maintained that the decision was the latest in a series of reforms
initiated by Abdullah.
On
August 18, King Abdullah banned citizens from addressing him as
"My Lord", stressing that God is the only Lord of the
people.
Later
in the month, he issued a royal decree raising salaries of all civil
servants, expect those with a ministerial level, by 15%.
Abdullah
has also ordered the release of several political prisoners after
assuming the throne.
Even
as crown prince, he championed a national dialogue forum to discuss
reforms in the kingdom.
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