It is clear that any attempt to draw the West’s attention to Saudi Arabia’s history of glaring human rights violations, would require an urgent amendment to the terminology we regularly use to describe the Saudi regime.

The most genial words have been pouring in from across the world for King Abdullah, the “reformer”.

President Obama cancelled his trip to the Taj Mahal to fly to Saudi Arabia.

In his statement on the death of King Abdullah, Obama spoke about the king's initiatives “that will outlive him as an enduring contribution to the search for peace in the region”.

The National Defense University in the US announced an essay competition to pay tribute to the deceased Saudi monarch.

The Japanese government praised him as a “peacekeeper”.

Perhaps the most baffling commendation came from the IMF’s Christine Lagarde, who called King Abdullah “a strong advocate for women”.

The four adult daughters reportedly house-arrested by King Abdullah, just to keep them from returning to his ex-wife were apparently not available to rebut Lagarde’s tribute.