The word ‘martyr’ is a contentious one. Some use it to identify those killed while protecting Islam. Some use it to identify those killed by Israelis. Others use it to identify suicide bombers. Here, the Saudi government is using it to identify those killed by terrorists in the Kingdom.

The government is honoring these with grants of land to their survivors as well as other rewards such as cash grants and posthumous promotions, according to this Saudi Gazette story.

Land grants to martyrs’ families

YANBU – Minister of Justice, Dr. Abdullah Bin Muhammad Bin Ibrahim Aal Al-Sheikh, has issued a judicial circular instructing all courts and public notaries throughout the Kingdom to give the families of martyrs priority in the issuing of land grants.

The Minister indicated that the circular follows the approval of the Council of Ministers, Al-Madina Arabic daily reports, and stipulates plots of land of 900 square meters. In addition to land grants, the children and families of martyrs who have lost their lives in clashes with deviant groups receive generous cash payments and annuities, while a martyr’s rank is automatically upgraded to the next rank on the military scale. Children of martyrs are given free housing and other benefits. Millions of riyals were recently spent at the behest of the Minister of the Interior to provide relief to martyrs’ families.