CAIRO, Aug 1: Arab leaders on Monday mourned the death of Saudi King Fahd as a major loss for the Muslim world, remembering him as a great monarch who will go down in history as a tireless defender of Arab causes. From Egypt to Yemen, tributes poured in for the man who ruled Saudi Arabia during the most turbulent period in its history while an Arab summit due to be held on Wednesday was postponed for three-day mourning periods across the region.

While Fahd may be remembered most for the close relationship Riyadh forged with the United States, he was also active in foreign policy within the region, promoting peace plans for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Perhaps his greatest achievement in this respect was bringing Lebanese MPs to the western Saudi mountain resort of Taif in 1989 to hammer out an accord which ended 15 years of civil war.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who called for the Arab summit in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss the threat of regional terrorism after deadly bombings last month in the Egyptian resort, ordered three days of mourning nationwide.

Mubarak “deplores the death of an honourable brother and dear friend and expresses on behalf of the Egyptian people his sincerest condolences to the Saudi people and the deceased’s family,” a statement said.

“The kingdom has lost an honourable son and one of its dearest leaders ... History will remember the great and numerous achievements he accomplished for the sake of the holy sites, his people and his nation,” it added.

Mubarak compared Fahd to a ‘knight’.

Jordan’s King Abdullah, who was on his way to London for talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair when Fahd’s death was announced, decreed a 40-day period of mourning at the royal court.

“The Arab and Muslim world has lost an exceptional leader who did not spare any effort in order to unify Arab and Muslim ranks and defend their identity,” King Abdullah said in a message of condolence.

“The royal Hashemite court ... expresses the deep sadness and sorrow of King Abdullah II and the Jordanian people and mourns King Fahd whose death is a huge loss,” a statement said.

A court official accompanying King Abdullah to London told AFP that the Jordanian monarch would lead a big delegation on Tuesday to Saudi Arabia to attend Fahd’s funeral.

The Jordanian government meanwhile held a special session and ordered three days of mourning nationwide as well as a one-day closure on Tuesday of all public institutions, including government ministries.

In Beirut, the government ordered three days of mourning and the closure of public buildings on Tuesday to ‘honour the memory of a great man who always gave support to Lebanon’.

President Emile Lahoud expressed his profound grief and said the death of Fahd, credited with helping to end Lebanon’s civil war, was a ‘great loss for the Arab and Muslim world’.

A three-day mourning period was also declared by the Palestinian Authority, which recalled Fahd as a stout defender of the Arab and Palestinian people.

“His death is a loss to the millions of Arabs and Muslims around the world. He was a leader who spent his life in defence of Arab causes and particularly on the Palestinian issue,” a statement from Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei’s office said.

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, who was due in Jordan later on Monday en route to the Arab summit, will lead a high-powered delegation to Saudi Arabia for Fahd’s funeral, Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath said.—AFP