By IINA,
Makkah : As many as 500 Islamic scholars, religious leaders, thinkers and intellectuals from around the world are attending the International Islamic Dialogue Conference, to be organized by the Muslim World League here tomorrow. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz will open the three-day conference at Al Safa Palace. Iranian Expediency Council Chairman and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Sheikh of Azhar Dr. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi are among the dignitaries taking part in the conference.
Addressing a press conference here yesterday on the eve of the conference, Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary general of the Muslim World League (MWL), said that the conference would chalk out a unified Muslim strategy to conduct dialogue with people from other faiths.
Dr. Al Turki said that the conference will discuss all the aspects concerning with Muslims’ dialogue with followers of other religions and cultures. He thanked the king for his care for the dialogue and his patronage of the conference. The king’s patronage will give the conference a great push to attract the world’s attention and encourage its peoples to conduct useful and continuous dialogue with Muslims,” he said.
Dr. Al Turki said that MWL is seeking to adopt a unified mechanism for initiating dialogue with other faiths. Regarding the role of Muslim minorities and Islamic cultural centers in cultural dialogues, he said that MWL is keen to ensure participation of scholars, muftis and officials of Islamic centers in countries with Muslim minorities in the conference. “The meeting was put off by four days in order to ensure their participation. MWL has invited these figures to draft an Islamic code for dialogue to serve as a reference for dialogue institutions and committees operating in Muslim countries or in countries with Muslim minorities,” he said adding that Muslim minorities are a vital component of the Ummah and that they must be cared for and assisted in satisfying their needs and demands and in solving their problems, sustaining their existence and asserting their Muslim identity.