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Saudi Princes And The Wash Of Kaabah: Saudi Royal Treatment Of The World?
29 July 2009
MAKKAH: Amid an overwhelming ambience of spirituality characterized by Takbeer chants of (Allahu Akbar) and Tahleel (La Ilaha Illallaah) Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal early Thursday washed the inside walls and floor of the Holy Kaaba using pieces of cloth soaked in Zamzam water mixed with rosewater. After the washing, the prince did Tawaf (circumambulation) around the Kaaba, performed the two Rakaas, kissed the Black Stone and drank Zamzam water which was being served by senior Sadin of the Kaaba (keepers of the keys of Kaaba) at the door of the Kaaba. Prince Khaled was received on arrival at the Grand Mosque by President of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques Sheikh Saleh Al-Hosayen and his deputy Sheikh Muhammad bin Nasser Al-Khuzaim. A number of ministers, religious scholars, senior government officials, accredited Muslim diplomats, citizens and visitors participated in the washing of the Kaaba. The ritual was shown live, for the first time, through direct TV transmission at the gate of the Grand Mosque. The Kaaba is washed twice a year, once before the month of Ramadan and once during Haj. It takes the equivalent of about five gallons of rosewater mixed with about 47 gallons of Zamzam water to clean the Holy House. The last washing ritual was performed on Jan. 12. UN commends Kingdom’s generosity In a separate story, Saudi Arabia has been ranked as “the largest international donor to humanitarian appeals” when measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). The Kingdom gave 0.19 percent of the value of its economy to humanitarian funding abroad. This is large in comparison to the US, which spent 0.02 percent of its GDP on humanitarian aid in 2008. “The US came in 19th on the list,” said a report released by the United Nations last week. Commenting on the report Riyad Musa, the UN’s resident coordinator in Saudi Arabia, said that the rise of Saudi Arabia as the world’s top humanitarian donor “is a great success and shows the strong commitments of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.” “Recent years have seen the rise of Saudi Arabia as an important and growing force in global development and humanitarian initiatives,” added Musa. “The UN office in Riyadh commends the nation for its solidarity with fellow countries, and stands ready to continue this agenda through our cooperation programs and initiatives in the Kingdom and abroad.” Referring to the humanitarian gesture of the Saudi government, the report said Riyadh not only led humanitarian donors as a percentage of GDP when compared to the US, but also in comparison to the more generous European countries, such as Sweden (0.14 percent) and Norway (0.13 percent). “Many small European countries, with large and generally affluent populations, were also part of the lead countries by GDP,” explained the report. The United Nations has announced that it is running a record funding-shortfall of $4.8 billion for its aid operations in 16 crisis-ridden countries, thanks largely to the global economic downturn that has disproportionately affected the impoverished in the developing world. The UN says it has received less than half of the $9.5 billion it needs to carry out humanitarian operations this year. Calling on nations to render urgent support, the UN said that the number of people needing help this year was 43 million compared to 28 million last year. As a consequence, more money is needed to care for them. The United Nations says it requires $1.5 billion, or 19 percent, more money this year to maintain its operations. John Holmes, the top UN humanitarian official, has been quoted as saying in the report that “the global recession itself is having an effect on the number of people in need.” He said that more people need assistance in the Palestinian territories because of the conflict with Israel early this year. But Holmes notes the most dramatic need is in Pakistan. “Pakistan has seen probably the most dramatic and dramatically changing humanitarian situation this year with up to two million people fleeing the military operations in parts of Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan,” he added. Other areas of concern include Zimbabwe, which continues to suffer from being unable to feed its population.
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