by Khaled Almraeed
Every Saudi citizen feels that he is in safe hands and everything that the state does is in the interest of the homeland.
Ninety years since the unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and 122 years since the restoration of Riyadh and the establishment of the Saudi homeland at the hands of the great leader, King Abdulaziz—may God have mercy on him. We celebrate this day to energize all our patriotic feelings, to reinforce the sense of belonging, cohesion and pride. We also take pride in this great nation, its leadership, its achievements, and the unique characteristics of its blessed land, which is hard to find in any other country.
Also, when we celebrate this glorious day, we remember the one who had the greatest merit after God, and he was King Abdulaziz. We pray to God for mercy and forgiveness for him, and his companions who participated with him in forming the unity—because of which we today enjoy unity, harmony, security and prosperity. It is indeed the result of the effort of this great king who spent his whole life struggling and sacrificing, so that the subsequent generations could enjoy these achievements that we are proud of today.
When the traveler travels the vast distances between the parts of the Kingdom, he can witness this great effort made by King Abdulaziz to unify these different lands and regions. You will surely sense that the people of this country are all convinced of belonging to this country. There are strong and many reasons that reinforce this conviction, and the evidence for this is despite the expansion of the Kingdom which is approximately the size of a continent, every single citizen feels the sense of belonging and love for this country contrary to what many countries in the Arab world suffer from disruption and insecurity today.
Every Saudi citizen thanks the wise and resolute leadership to preserve the country and everything that enhances its security, unity, interests and prosperity, irrespective of Saudi citizens of different regions and sects. Their love and pride for their country and their keenness towards national cohesion, and leadership is evident.
The country is currently living its best days under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his trustworthy Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.
We live in an era of firmness, determination, progress, prosperity and planning for the future. Every Saudi citizen feels that he is in safe hands and everything that the state does is in the interest of the homeland. We are all concerned about and we will reap the benefits of all this in the future.
On the National Day, we are proud of what has been achieved in the past, and we pledge as Saudis to preserve the achievements of King Abdulaziz, and we acknowledge our present full of building achievements, strength and development, reinforced by belonging and patriotism, and we are optimistic about a promising and prosperous future which is promising great goodness, God willing.
We ask God to preserve our wise leadership and to grant them success for all good, and to preserve this honorable nation and its honorable children.
Khaled Almraeed is specialized in military and strategic affairs. He is author of a book on the restoration of Riyadh 1319 from a military and strategic perspective. He tweets under @khaledalmraeed.
Article first published in Al Riyadh in Arabic.
