This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: عبد الله بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود, romanized: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd, Najdi Arabic pronunciation: [ʢæbˈdɑɫ.ɫɐ ben ˈʢæbdæl ʢæˈziːz ʔæːl sæˈʢuːd]; 1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2005 until his death in 2015.

[15] Madawi Al-Rasheed argues that Abdullah's maternal roots and his earlier experience of a speech impediment led to delay in his rise to higher status among the sons of King Abdulaziz.

[16] King Khalid appointed Abdullah as second deputy prime minister on 29 March 1975 just four days after his kingship[18] which was a reflection of his status as second in the line of succession to the Saudi throne.

"[30] By late 2003, after the Saudi Arabian branch of al-Qaeda carried out a series of bombings that threatened to destabilize the country, Crown Prince Abdullah, together with other decision-making elites began to deal with political concerns.

As Toby Jones wrote in Middle East Report: One of such moves was his project to promote more tolerance for religious diversity and rein in the forces of politico-religious extremism in the kingdom, leading to the establishment of National Dialogue.

In 2005, Abdullah declared that the national day of the country, 23 September, would be a public holiday in an attempt to reduce the influence of religious figures and some social restrictions.

[33] He promoted the construction of the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (the country's new flagship and controversially co-ed institution for advanced scientific research).

[34] The Saudi government's response to homegrown terrorism was a series of crackdowns including raids by security forces, arrests, torture and public beheadings.

[35] In August 2010, Abdullah decreed that only officially approved religious scholars associated with the Senior Council of Ulema would be allowed to issue fatwas.

[39][40] In January 2012, Abdullah dismissed the head of Saudi Arabia's powerful religious police, replacing him with a more moderate cleric, state news agency SPA reported, without giving reasons.

Abdullatif Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh was named, in place of Sheikh Abdulaziz al Humain, to head the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

[50] The historic conference finally took place in Madrid in July 2008, wherein religious leaders of different faiths participated,[51] and which later led to the 2010 proclamation of World Interfaith Harmony Week.

The Mecca conference discussed a paper on dialogue with monotheists—highlighting the monotheistic religions of southeast Asia, including Sikhism—in the third axis of the fourth meeting, titled "With Whom We Talk," presented by Sheikh Badrul Hasan Al Qasimi.

In 2011, an agreement for the establishment of the Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna was signed between the governments of Austria, Spain, and Saudi Arabia.

[64] In April 2008, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable, Abdullah had told the US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and General David Petraeus to "cut off the head of the snake".

Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir, "recalled the King's frequent exhortations to the US to attack Iran" and to put an end to that country's nuclear program.

The King described his conversation with Iranian foreign minister Mottaki as "a heated exchange, frankly discussing Iran's interference in Arab affairs".

[57][64] He told General Jones that Iranian internal turmoil presented an opportunity to weaken the regime—which he encouraged—but he also urged that this be done covertly, stressing that public statements in support of the reformers were counterproductive.

[citation needed] Saudi Arabia, by the endorsement of the Gulf Cooperation Council, sent 1,200 troops to Bahrain to protect industrial facilities, resulting in strained relations with the United States.

[66][67] In December 2010, leaked diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks revealed that Abdullah wanted all released detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to be tracked using an implanted microchip, in a way similar to race horses.

[citation needed] In late March 2011, Abdullah sent Bandar bin Sultan, Secretary General of the National Security Council, to China to gain its support regarding Saudi Arabia's attitude towards the Arab Spring.

[74] In December 2011, Abdullah called on leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council to strengthen their alliance into a united "single entity" as they confront threats to national security.

[76] Most of this criticism stems from the fact that most of Saudi citizens live under a strict Wahhabist interpretation of Sharia law, which mandates the amputation of hands as a punishment for theft and floggings for crimes like drunkenness.

In a slight rebuff to accusations of human rights violations, Saudi inmates of Najran Province sent the King well-wishes from jail and wished him a speedy recovery.

[95] King Abdullah also married Jawahir bint Ali Hussein from the Al Jiluwi clan, with whom he had two children, Princess Anoud and Prince Saud.

[99] In October 2015, King Abdullah's son Prince Majid was arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of "forcing oral copulation",[103][104] amid allegations that he had been unlawfully imprisoning, threatening, sexually harassing, and assaulting employees while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol.

[124] According to an interview with an American doctor for the family, Maha and Hala were regularly forcibly sedated with various drugs, including Valium, Ativan, Xanax, and Ambien.

[125] After media releases in March 2014, Sahar and Jawahir received no food or clean water for 25 days, lost 10 kg each and their mother carried out weekly protests in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in London.

[145][146] In accordance with Islamic tradition, his funeral was held the same day, a public ceremony at the Grand Mosque of Riyadh before burial in an unmarked grave at the Al Oud cemetery.

While still Crown Prince, Abdullah paid for the separation surgery of a pair of Polish conjoined twins, which took place at the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh on 3 January 2005.