The Assassination of King Faisal

On 25th of March, 1975, Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (King Faisal), the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by his nephew Faisal bin Musaid. The assassination of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was a monumental event in world history and it rocked the world. So who was behind this cold-blooded murder? Was it a political assassination carried out at the behest of CIA or Mossad, or was it the result of a trivial family feud? Let’s take a deep dive into this infamous chapter in recent history and uncover the event that changed the course of Middle-Eastern history.

Faisal bin Musaid: Family and Background

Early Life and Education Faisal bin Musaid

Faisal bin Musaid Al Saud was born in 1944 and he was the grandson of the Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia. He had a privileged childhood as a prince of Saudi Arabia. Faisal bin Musaid studied at the University of California and the University of Colorado in the United States and most of his peers there described him as a friendly and likeable person. While studying in the United States, he faced legal troubles due to his drug and alcohol use.

Christine Surma: Faisal bin Musaid’s Girlfriend

It was during his stay that Faisal bin Musaid met his longtime girlfriend, Christine Surma, who would later be accused of colluding with foreign intelligence agencies in the assassination of King Faisal.

Return of Faisal bin Musaid

Faisal bin Musaid got a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and decided to return to the Middle East. However, before going back to Saudi Arabia, he would take a detour and would go to Beirut, Lebanon, and East Germany. He would eventually return to his country and started teaching at the University of Riyadh.

The Assassination of King Faisal

On March 25th, 1975, while the King Faisal was holding a meeting or a majlis, Faisal bin Musaid, the would-be assassin, was polishing the gun that he would use to murder the king. As the king was meeting with a delegation, Faisal bin Musaid entered the court. King Faisal, at the sight of his nephew, bent down his head so Faisal bin Musaid could kiss him on the head, a sign of allegiance and respect in Saudi culture. As he did, Faisal bin Musaid raised the gun and shot the king in the head twice from point blank range. He fired another shot but this time he missed. King Faisal was quickly shifted to the hospital but soon succumbed due to the two gunshot wounds to the head. Faisal bin Musaid was apprehended and he confessed to the charges brought against him.

Motives

The exhaustive investigation that followed the murder would offer a number of motives behind the assasination and some of them pointed toward a conspiracy. The royal court would later claim that the Faisal bin Musaid was deranged and had no further motive, but medical experts appointed by the judiciary found him to be sane. He had, however, been regarded as emotionally unstable since childhood and had even underground psychiatric treatment when he visited Beirut.

Another possible motive was speculated to be the rejection of request put forward to the king by Faisal bin Musaid to increase his annual stipend as a prince by the king’s court. He was reportedly angered by the King Faisal’s refusal to increase his $3,500 allowance ($20,000, adjusted for inflation), which he claimed was insufficient to meet his expenses. He had became sour after this incident and this incident might have engendered the assassination.

Prince Faisal bin Musaid’s grievances didn’t end there. On one occasion, he had been barred from traveling abroad due to his alcohol abuse by the Saudi authorities at the behest of the king. The King was furious by his drug and alcohol usage which is prohibited or haram according to Islam.

Another possible motive could have been the death of Prince Faisal bin Musaid’s brother, a religious zealot, who, while attacking a TV station for promoting what he considered “indecency”, had died at the hands of the state police, allegedly while resisting arrest. All of these motives, however, seemed trivial. Surely, no one would throw away their life for such trivialities! Prince Faisal bin Musaid was treated well as he was part of the Saudi royal entourage and ostensibly had everything. So was he forced to carry out the assassination? Did he do it at the directive of foreign spy agencies?

Foreign Agent or a Deranged Nephew of King Faisal?

From the outset, people began speculating about the possible motives for the assassination of King Faisal. Why would a Prince Faisal Bin Musiad who had everything to lose kill the king who happened to be his uncle, knowing fully well he would incur the death penalty as it is ordained by sharia law? Some hypothesized that the oil embargo of 1973 masterminded by King Faisal might have played a key role in the assassination. The foreign conspiracy made sense to a lot of people and a significant number of people still adhere to this explanation. This conspiracy pointed towards a foreign agency, possibly CIA or Mossad.

King Faisal’s Oil Embargo

King Faisal was an ideologue whose foreign policy was centered on pan-Islamism and pro-Palestinianism. The United States was resentful towards King Faisal due to his stance on Palestine and his oil embargo on the west which had led to an oil crisis in 1973. The 1973 oil embargo was implemented against countries who had supported Israel during the Fourth Arab-Israeli War (Yom Kippuur War) in 1973 and, as a result, the price of oil had risen by a whopping 300 percent. The embargo had led to a global recession and rise in tension between the United States and its NATO allies, who considered the US responsible for the crisis because of its unqualified assistance to Israel. Furthermore, King Faisal was a staunch opposer of Zionism, and Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. So both the CIA and Mossad had a pone to pick with the king. It was further hypothesized that the CIA or Mossad had manipulated the assassin through his American girlfriend Christine Surma.

He did it for the good of mankind. he will be recognized as a liberator by his people.

Christine Surma, the girlfriend of Faisal bin Musaid

Christine Surma became part of the investigation. When asked about the assassination, she had reportedly said: “He [Faisal bin Musaid] did it for the good of mankind.” She further emphasized that Faisal Bin Musaid would be recognized as a liberator in the future by the people of Saudi Arabia. Surma was reportedly quite political and was not happy with King Faisal’s foreign policy regarding Israel. She thought it was in the interest of Saudi Arabia to make peace with Israel and argued that this would not be possible under the leadership of King Faisal. There was a lot of ground for the suspicion that she was an asset of CIA or Mossad. She was accused of secretly being Jewish and guilty of conspiring in the assassination of King Faisal. However, she denied all charges and the investigation into her link to the assassination was not probed further for some reason.

Whatever the case, the king had kicked the hornet’s nest with his oil embargo and pan-Islamic rhetoric and had incurred the wrath of the global cabal. The US and Israel would be the party who gained the most from King Faisal’s assassination as Saudi Arabia has been a close ally of the United States ever since the death of King Faisal.

The Execution of Faisal bin Musaid

Faisal bin Musaid Al Saud was tried through a sharia court and was found guilty of regicide. He was sentenced to death by beheading according to Saudi sharia law. On 18th June, 1975, Faisal bin Musaid Al Saud was executed with a gold-handled sword in a public square of Riyadh. He was 26 years old at the time of his death. After his execution, Faisal bin Musaid’s head was mounted on a wooden spike and displayed to the public. He was one of the three members of the Saudi royal family who were executed for breaking the law of the land.

Legacy

Faisal bin Musaid lives in infamy for the regicide of a king who was loved by his subjects. The mystery surrounding the assassination, the unclear motive, and the possible involvement of CIA and Mossad has turned this event King Faisal into a near-mythical figure throughout the Islamic world.