[snugedate]

The death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia placed his half-brother, Abdullah, on the throne. Although there was a rapid and smooth transition, there are questions about the direction the new monarch will take his country.

The accession of King Abdullah to the Saudi throne opens up some crucial questions about political and religious reform in the oil-rich country. But as one newspaper put it, discerning the intrigues of the Saudi royal family is as difficult as deciphering the workings of the old Soviet Politburo.

For some 70 years, Saudi Arabia has been ruled by a single family as an absolute monarchy. The royal family rules with the help of the powerful Islamic clergy, many of whom preach a firebrand, fundamentalist version of Islam called Wahhabism. There are no elections except for some minor municipal councils. Women have few social or political rights. Political dissent is not tolerated.

Dennis Ross, former U.S. special coordinator on the Middle East, is a longtime analyst of Saudi affairs. Speaking in Washington Tuesday at the 9-11 Public Discourse Project, Mr. Ross said King Abdullah is committed to very slow, gradual reform. But he notes that King Abdullah and the next in the succession, Crown Prince Sultan, are getting on in years. King Abdullah in his 80s and Prince Sultan is in his 70s. What will be interesting, he says, is who will become the Number Three in the Saudi hierarchy.

"Is King Abdullah going to, in a sense, make his own statement, put his own imprint on policy? And if he's going to do it, in what ways and how soon? I think the designation of the Number Three will be an interesting indication of openness to managing change within the [royal] family, which will also be a good indication to what the pace of reform outside [the family] is likely to look like," he said.沙特阿拉伯国王法赫德之死使他的同父异母的兄弟阿卜杜拉登上了王位。尽管过渡过程平稳而迅速，但新君主将会带走国家的方向仍然存在问题。

阿卜杜拉国王加入沙特阿拉伯王位，为石油富国的政治和宗教改革提出了一些关键性的问题。但正如一家报纸所说，辨别沙特皇室的阴谋，同破译旧时的苏维埃政治局的运作一样困难。

大约70年来，沙特阿拉伯一直由独立的君主统治。皇室在强大的伊斯兰教神职人员的帮助下统治，其中许多人宣扬一种叫做瓦哈比教的伊斯兰教原教旨主义版本。除了一些小的市议会，没有选举。妇女享有很少的社会或政治权利。政治上的不同意见是不能容忍的。

前美国中东问题特别协调员丹尼斯·罗斯是沙特事务的长期分析师。罗斯先生周二在华盛顿9-11的公共话语计划中说，阿卜杜拉国王致力于缓慢而渐进的改革。但是他指出，阿卜杜拉国王和继位的下一任苏丹王储正在相继发展。 80年代的阿卜杜拉国王和苏丹王子已经70多岁了。他说，有趣的是，谁将成为沙特等级中的第三名。

“阿卜杜拉国王在某种意义上是否要做出自己的声明，在政策上留下自己的印记？如果他打算这么做的话，在哪些方面和如何尽快呢？我认为三号的名称将是一个有趣的他表示，在皇室家族内部进行变革的开放态度，这也将很好地说明家庭外部改革的步伐。