http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=126159&d=7&m=9&y=2009
Monday 7 September 2009 (17 Ramadan 1430)
Interfaith meet set for Sept. 30
P.K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News
JEDDAH: As many as 128 prominent religious leaders and
officials from around the world, including the US, the UK, China, Italy, India,
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Japan and the Philippines, will take part in a major
interfaith conference that opens in Geneva on Sept. 30 at the initiative of
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
"The Impact of King Abdullah's Inter-Religious Dialogue
Initiative in Disseminating Human Values," is the title of the main theme of
the two-day conference, said the conference's website set up by the Muslim
World League (MWL), the organizer of the event. Other topics for discussion at
the conference are: King Abdullah's Initiative and the Scope of Coexistence
Among the Various Civilizations; the Role of Religion and Culture in Promoting
Dialogue; the Impact of Religious Values in Reforming Societies; and the Role
of Media in Strengthening Dialogue and Human Values.
This is the fourth international conference organized in
connection with promoting interfaith dialogue at King Abdullah's initiative.
The first was held in Makkah, the second in Madrid and the third at the United
Nations headquarters in New York.
The Makkah conference, which was held on June 4, 2008,
brought together about 500 Muslim leaders from around the world in order to set
an agenda for the building of better relations between Muslims and followers of
other faiths.
In his opening address, King Abdullah stressed the need for
better communication and understanding between Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
A month later, on July 16, 2008, the MWL invited nearly 300 religious,
political and cultural leaders from 50 different countries to Madrid to carry
forward the king's message.
"If we want this historic encounter to succeed, we must look
to the things that unite us: Our profound faith in God, the noble principles
and elevated ethics that represent the foundation of religions," said the king
at the Madrid conference.
The participants of the Geneva summit include William Baker,
president of Christians and Muslims for Peace in the US; David Rosen, director
of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee; John Esposito, head
of Muslim-Christian Understanding; Terje Roed-Larsen, director of the Institute
of Peace; and Larry Shaw, chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Other prominent participants include: Mohammad Hamid Ansari,
vice president of India; Koïchiro Matsuura, director general of UNESCO; Thomas
Lemmen, secretary-general of the Christian-Islamic Society in Germany; Pramjeet
Singh Sarna, president of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib; Kuniaki Kuni,
president of the Association of Shinto Temples in Japan; Xue Cheng,
vice-chairman of the Buddhist Association of China.
Saudi Arabia will send 19 delegates to the event, including
Faisal Muammar, deputy minister of education; Abdul Rahman Al-Shubaily, a
Shoura member; Ahmed Alkhulaifi of Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University;
and Adel Alshiddy of King Saud University.
