By IINA,
Makkah : Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz opened the International Islamic Dialogue Conference at Al Safa Palace here today. In his opening speech, King Abdullah underscored the need for holding dialogue with followers of other religions on the basis of the noble Islamic principles. Stressing the need for holding interfaith dialogue, he said: “We started (dialogue with others) from the vicinity of the holiest shrine of our Lord (Baitullah) and we can now launch dialogue with others from the same site…,” the king said.
Earlier, upon arrival at the venue of the conference, the king was received by Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Alu Al Sheikh, Iranian Expediency Council Chairman and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Sheikh of Azhar Dr. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi and Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary general of the Muslim World League (MWL).
As many as 500 Islamic scholars, religious leaders, thinkers and intellectuals from around the world are attending the three-day Conference, organized by the Muslim World League. The conference follows King Abdullah’s plea in March for dialogue among Muslims, Christians and Jews. Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki said the conference would discuss the basis for dialogue with other faiths in the context of the teachings of the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah. Shoura Council President Saleh Bin-Humaid is scheduled to preside over the first session, which features a number of papers on the objectives of dialogue as outlined in the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah, and historical experiences of cultural dialogue.
Sheikh Muhammad Ali Taskhery, secretary-general of the Center for Reconciliation of Islamic Schools of Thought, will chair the second session and Jordan’s Chief Justice Ahmed Muhammad Haleel will present a paper on the mechanisms of dialogue.
Bosnian Mufti Mustafa Ceric will preside over the third session, which focuses on the importance of coordination among Islamic organizations in holding dialogue with other faiths. Abdullah Omar Naseef, secretary-general of the International Islamic Council for Dawa and Relief, will present a paper and Muhammad Al-Sammak, secretary-general of the Islamic Spiritual Summit in Lebanon, will speak on dialogue with followers of divine religions.
The fourth session will be led by Abdul Rahman Sewar Al-Dahab, chairman of the board of trustees of the Islamic Dawa Organization. Mahmoud Ghazi of the College of Islamic Studies in Qatar will present a paper on the clash of civilizations and world peace. Ali Uzak of Turkey will speak on the common ground of family and morality. Earlier, Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki 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.