By IINA,
Jeddah : Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Kingdom Foundation chairman, has donated over SR700,000 to two International Islamic Forum for Dialogue (IIFD) programs. The first contribution, amounting to SR290,625, was to the dialogue between the IIFD and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the second was to the Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee program, amounting SR413,700. The donation came in response to a request from the President of the IIFD and Assistant Secretary-General of the World Muslim Congress Professor Dr. Hamid ibn Ahmad Al-Rifaie.
The IIFD which is part of the International Islamic Council consists of more than 100 Islamic organizations that includes Al Azhar, Muslim World League, World Assembly of Muslim Youth, the Union of Islamic Organizations in Europe, the Union of Islamic Organizations in the United States, the ministries of Islamic Affairs in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Dar El-Fatwa in Lebanon and the Algerian Alliance of Civilizations Forum and others.
As an avid supporter of global peace, Alwaleed had donated SR825,000 to the IIFD in 2004 and SR1,169,530 in 2006 which led to the success of various dialogue programs that were also part of the forum, including the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) in the Vatican, the dialogue with the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development (MEPD) in New York and the dialogue with the Middle East Council of Churches in Beirut. In 2004, Alwaleed contributed $75,000 to the IIFD for the their website development. The contributions stem from Alwaleed’s belief in the importance of dialogue and exchange of opinions.