by Major General Khaled Al-Mraeed
Saudi National Day is a day of victory and glory. We celebrate the past, in which we achieved victory over dispersion, ignorance, and backwardness.
On the 17th of Jumadul-Ula 1351 Hijri which corresponds to 19th of September 1932 CE, a royal decree was issued to unify the country in the name of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as of 21st Jumadul-Awwal 1351 Hijri which corresponds to 23rd September 1932 CE, and a country came under the banner of Saudi glory, and the day of September 23 of each year became a national day.
And when we celebrate the occasion of the 92nd National Day, we find that it is a great occasion in which patriotic feelings full of pride and sense of belonging get together. Indeed, everyone is responsible for the love for this country.
As the Prince of Poets Ahmed Shawqi says, describing the feeling towards the homeland, and the love of the homeland is from faith, and the love of the homeland is instinctive with birth, and the homeland is like a bond for those who have no back.
This great country united after the founding hero King Abdulaziz – may God have mercy on him – waged an armed struggle, sacrifices and titanic efforts for more than 30 years, with the help of his loyal people, until his great efforts culminated in the unification of this lofty entity, and he was able to achieve the first and longest Arab unity, and it is the first Arab country to unite and complete the national identity, and became one of the founders of a number of international organizations such as the United Nations, the League of Arab States and others.
And when we celebrated this glorious national day, we feel that everything in this great country calls for pride and enhances the great value of our country in our souls, in addition to our great achievements and great advantages.
And when we contemplate at the world map, we find that the distinguished strategic location, the vast area, and the qualitative and distinct population qualifies it to be a truly great country. This distinguished geographical location is important for employing geopolitics (political geography) to obtain strong political influence. It is sufficient that the Kingdom is characterized by its strategic location and its geographical depth, and we have extensive and diverse sea coasts.
As the strategists say: National greatness is linked to the state’s presence on seas that can be used commercially during peace and control during war.
Saudi National Day is a day of victory and glory. We celebrate the past, in which we achieved victory over dispersion, ignorance, and backwardness. We celebrate a present in which we have made huge leaps towards elevation and glory. We await a bright future with boundless ambition that embraces the sky.
As Saudis in this great nation, we possess three pillars of strength for any nation, which are our leadership, our people, and our faith. With confidence towards more glory.
On National Day, a question comes to my mind, what should we offer to the country? It is not what was given to us. The homeland has provided us with everything security, safety, education, health and a decent life. A person without a homeland is nothing. Look around us at some countries. What happened to them in terms of insecurity, dignity, chaos and hunger, all because of the collapse of the national state that the enemies seek.
In the end, I say: We thank God for the blessing of this great nation with its great leaders and loyal men who have achieved miracles like miracles and glories to be told.
We are all confident in the tremendous efforts made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the advancement, progress and development of this dear country.
We ask the Great Living God to preserve our wise leadership and our loyal people and protect our country from the plots of plotters.
Major General 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.
Original first published on Al Riyadh in Arabic. Translated by Millichronicle.
