If he happens to be Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, self-appointed caliph of Islamic State (Isis), the answer is one of the world's most wanted terrorists. If he is King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the proper form of address is "Your Majesty". Are we all clear about that? Me neither.
The Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister turned up in Riyadh at the weekend to pay their respects to Salman's half-brother, King Abdullah, whose death was announced on Friday. Abdullah's demise at the age of 90 unleashed a nauseating display of hypocrisy among world leaders.
Flags flew at half-mast in Whitehall while David Cameron - sorry, pass-the-sick-bag moment coming up - praised the deceased despot's efforts towards "strengthening understanding between faiths".
This is the same David Cameron who marched in Paris two weeks ago in solidarity with the victims of al-Qaida-inspired terrorism. Then, there was much talk about human rights and free expression, both of which get short shrift in Saudi Arabia. Barack Obama - a conspicuous no-show in Paris - found the time to praise the absolute monarch and hailed the US-Saudi relationship "as a force for stability and security in the Middle East".
Funnily enough, none of these busy men had time to mention Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger whose flogging was postponed on the very same day because he hadn't recovered from the 50 lashes he received two weeks earlier. » | Joan Smith | Tuesday, January 27, 2015
