JEDDAH, 7 May 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan received the body of Makkah Gov. Prince Abdul Majeed, which arrived at Riyadh Airbase yesterday from the United States. Prince Abdul Majeed died at the Seattle University Hospital on Saturday following a prolonged illness.
A large number of princes including Prince Miteb, minister of municipal and rural affairs, Prince Badr, deputy commander of the National Guard, Prince Salman, governor of the Riyadh region, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, foreign minister, and Prince Faisal, the only son of the late prince, were present at the airport to receive the body.
Funeral prayers for Prince Abdul Majeed will be held at Imam Turki ibn Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh today after Dhuhr prayers. The funeral, earlier scheduled for yesterday, was delayed as a result of the late arrival of the body.
Prince Badr and Prince Abdul Ilah, brothers of the late prince, and Prince Faisal ibn Abdul Majeed and his sons will accept condolences at Prince Badr’s palace in Riyadh today after Maghreb.
Many Arab leaders including King Abdallah of Jordan, Bahraini Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa ibn Salman Al-Khalifa, Sheikh Mansour ibn Zayed, minister of presidential affairs in the UAE, and Saadaddin Hariri, a Lebanese Parliament member, have arrived in Riyadh to convey their condolences to King Abdullah, Prince Sultan and other members of the royal family.
The Saudi king later received King Abdallah, Sheikh Khalifa, Sheikh Mansour ibn Zayed, Abdullah Balahmar, speaker of the Yemeni Parliament, Neil Bush, brother of US President George W. Bush, and Saadaddin Hariri at the Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency said.
The king earlier received a telephone call from Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, expressing his condolences on Abdul Majeed’s death.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz conveyed their condolences. “The president of Pakistan has expressed his deep sadness and sense of shock at the passing away of Prince Abdul Majeed,” said a statement issued by the Consulate General of Pakistan in Jeddah.
“On behalf of the people of Pakistan, the president conveyed his heartfelt condolences and sympathies to King Abdullah, the bereaved family and the people of Saudi Arabia,” it added.
“As the governor of the holiest site of Muslims, the noble contributions of Prince Abdul Majeed will always be remembered by Muslims around the world and we will always cherish his memory as a dear friend and brother who was held in the highest esteem by the people of Pakistan,” Musharraf was quoted as saying by the statement.
