Asharq Alawsat has this editorial by the paper’s editor-in-chief, Tariq Alhomayed. It stresses that King Abdullah has always thought that talking was better than precipitous action, going all the way back to when he convinced Muammar Qaddafi to let two Libyan citizens stand trial in the UK over the Lockerbie/PA-103 bombing.
King Abdullah and the Interfaith Conference
Tariq AlhomayedThe United Nations headquarters in New York will today host an important and historic event, an Interfaith Conference to be held in the UN General Assembly. An Interfaith Conference initiated by Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz.
The genesis of King Abdullah’s idea for the interfaith dialogue can be traced back to his meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister in Riyadh 2007, the idea crystallized with King Abdullah’s visit to the World Conference on Dialogue in Madrid earlier this year, and finally takes root today having taken on international dimensions.
The importance of the Interfaith Conference lies in the fact that it was initiated by Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam and land of the Two Holy Mosques, and by a King who inherently believed in dialogue, culture, and communication before the terrorist attacks which rocked Saudi Arabia and the world.
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Here’s the text of King Abullah’s speech to the UN.
And here’s The Washington Post‘s report. Note the French effort to head off attempts to stifle freedom of speech, at the end of the piece: U.N. Faith Forum Denounces Intolerance, Extremism
Christian Science Monitor carries a column by a Saudi academic talking about why the conference is important: The Saudi King’s vision for interfaith dialogue
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November:13:2008 - 12:35
[...] and level head but there are some things that just get my Irish up. With apologies to my friend John Burgess, from whom I got the links that appear in this post, I refuse to be lectured on religious tolerance [...]
November:13:2008 - 22:10
Progressive Muslims must challenge their fundamentalist brethren to apply historical context and reason when interpreting the Qur’an and Hadith. They must emphatically state that the Islamic path is not the only path to salvation, and that individuals have the right to worship the God of their choosing, in public and in private, without threat of persecution.
When pigs fly?
This order is a tall one for progressive Muslims. It’s made more audacious when Christians dismiss Islam as inherently violent and irrational because they are too busy or distracted to take the time to understand it. Peace-seeking Christians, if they take the time to better understand Islam, might learn to distinguish enemies from allies. Extremism can’t be killed, but in partnership with the Muslim middle, it can be tamed.
November:14:2008 - 00:06
I agree. I think it particularly important to work with the middle and to try to influence those who are simply not sure, not clear on what they’re supposed to be doing. In the vacuum of certainty, there are too many who will fill the void with extremism.
Go help the fence-sitters.