Westminster Abbey has issued a defence of its decision to fly its flag at half-mast today in honour of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, whose kingdom is regularly cited by critics as having one of the worst records on human rights and religious freedom in the world.
In a statement the abbey said: “It is at half-mast because the Government has decided to fly their flags at half-mast today.
“For us not to fly at half-mast would be to make a noticeably aggressive comment on the death of the king of a country to which the UK is allied in the fight against Islamic terrorism.
“Nor would it have done anything to support the desperately oppressed Christian communities of the Middle East for whom we pray constantly and publicly.”
The Department for Culture said earlier on Friday that government buildings were “requested” to fly flags at half-mast from 8am this morning until 8pm.
One Westminster source said the decision to fly flags at half-mast, which was widely criticised on social media, was taken at the behest of Buckingham Palace, the Guardian reported.
In Vienna, the Saudi-funded centre named after the late monarch – the King Abdullah International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue – hailed him as “a committed peace initiator and an unwavering advocate for dialogue”.
The centre, of which the Holy See is a founding observer, noted his “advocacy of peace through interreligious dialogue”.
In 2007 King Abdullah met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. In their historic meeting, Pope Benedict raised concerns about the rights of the million Christian migrant workers who, as non-Muslims, have no freedom to practice their faith in Saudi Arabia.
At the end of the meeting, the king presented the Pope with a gold and silver sword studded with precious jewels, according to a Bedouin and Saudi custom for honouring foreign leaders.
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