By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,
Kochi: VK Hamsa Abbas, chief editor of ‘Gulf Madhyamam’ daily will participate in the interfaith conference to be held in Geneva on September 30. The interfaith conference is organized by the Rabitha or Muslim World League under the initiative of King Abdulla of Saudi Arabia. Mr Abbas had participated in the religious conferences organized by King Abdulla in Mecca and Madrid earlier. The conferences are organized to increase cordiality among different faiths and to foment friendship among societies.
Nearly 130 prominent religious leaders and officials from around the world will participate in the summit. The main theme of the two-day conference is titled ‘The Impact of King Abdullah’s Inter-Religious Dialogue Initiative in Disseminating Human Values’. Other topics for discussion are the role of religion and culture in promoting dialogue, the impact of religious values in reforming societies, the role of media in strengthening dialogue and human values etc.
Mr Abbas was the first editor, printer and publisher of ‘Madhyamam’ daily when it began publishing in 1987 from Calicut in Kerala. He became the chief editor of ‘Gulf Madhyamam’ when it began to be published from Bahrain in 1998. Now there are seven editions for the Gulf Madhyamam. It is published from all the Arabic-speaking Gulf countries except Oman. Mr Abbas hails from Kannur in north Kerala.
The conference at Geneva is the fourth of such conferences organized under the initiative of King Abdullah. The earlier summits were held in Mecca (June 2008), Madrid (July 2008) and the UN head quarters in New York.
Other important personalities like vice-president of the country Syed Hamid Ansari and Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib president Pramjeet Singh are also reported to be participating in the conference from India.