The
Speech of
H.E. Dr.
Abdullah Ibn Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki
Secretary General of
the Muslim World League
At the Inauguration Ceremony
of
World Conference on
Dialogue
13-15/7/1429H
(16-18/7/2008)
In the
Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Praise be
to Almighty Allah
Blessings
and peace be on all Messengers and Prophets of God.
I
am glad to extend profound gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King
Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud for patronizing this conference and for
his keen and constant desire to foster meaningful dialogue, due to his astute
view of the problems faced by humanity, as well as his full conviction about
the enormous opportunities, mankind in spite of its religious and cultural differences
can utilize to improve the lot of human being at all times and in all places.
I
am also glad to extend thank and appreciation to King Juan Carlos I of Spain
and Spanish Government as well as the Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero for providing an opportunity to organize this conference in Spain, a
country which has witnessed coexistence and cooperation between the followers
of different religions and civilizations and which has contributed towards the
human civilization.
I
am also glad to welcome this congregation of various religious, intellectual and
media figures, with the hope of success for this conference.
Mere
holding of this gathering can be regarded as a success for the voice of
moderation and peace in the world, and a positive step on the way of
cooperation that serves the entire human community. Whatever the religious,
intellectual and cultural differences peoples have, the noble values of justice,
charity and virtue which are deeply rooted in their natural disposition, and
are confirmed by the divine messages, shall remain common basis and a comprehensive
framework that can produce enlightened ideas and constructive proposals for
addressing the common problems of human society.
Dialogue
is one of the best means of conveying those values and broadening the range of
mutual understanding, as it is based on addressing the natural and intellectual
entity and wins hearts and minds.
This
conference is being held within the framework of the call made by Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud for dialogue between
various religious, cultural groups and leaders of human thought.
It
is an expression of keen desire of the Saudi leadership for a better coexistence
and cooperation among nations, peoples and civilizations of the world and also
a demonstration of its internal and external policies. It is also a proof of the
fact that background of its culture and civilization is characterized with openness,
flexibility and desire for well-being of all mankind.
The
International Islamic Conference for Dialogue, which was held recently in the
Holy City of Makkah is considered a comprehensive Islamic step in response to the
call of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. A large number of Islamic
personalities who attended this international conference agreed on fundamentals
and mechanisms of a successful dialogue.
The
Makkah conference focused its deliberations on the essential aspects of
dialogue, projected its authenticity and laid down the terms and conditions conducive
to its success. All these were incorporated in the Makkah Appeal which was
issued by the conference, crystallizing the Islamic vision of dialogue.
The
Muslim World League, an international non-governmental organization with an
observer status in the UN and OIC has always shown keen interest in the issues
of dialogue and the ways and means of backing it up. The MWL has placed these
issues within its cultural and media priorities in order to counter the concept
of inevitability of clash of civilizations.
One
of the most significant goals of dialogue is to discuss the ways and means of confronting
the promotion of anarchy, moral degeneration and family disintegration, to the
extent of countering the natural disposition and ignoring the differences of genders.
The
direct meetings between the world's religious, intellectual and philosophical
figures provide a good opportunity to create atmosphere of mutual understanding,
correct the wrong information and minimize the causes of tension and extreme judgments,
attitudes or views.
Islam
views the members of human race as equal belonging to one and same origin. Ethnic,
colour or language differences do not warrant any discrepancy between them, as
much as dignity and human values are concerned.
Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him) said: “O mankind! Your Lord is but one,
your father is but one. Let there be no preference of the Arab over the non-Arab
or of the non-Arab over the Arab, or of the red over the black, or the black
over the red except by piety.”
Openness
towards others and integration with them are the elements of Islamic
civilization. The presence of religious and ethnic minorities in the Muslim world
throughout the history goes a long way to substantiate this fact. The rights, characteristics,
religious heritage and culture of these minorities have always been protected, due
to the principle of tolerance in Islam and the essence of Islamic Shari'ah, which
serves as the basic source of Islamic lifestyle, culture and civilization.
Dialogue
is one of the most important mechanisms of interaction with the entire
existence on the basis of 'give and take'. It doesn't tolerate compulsion or oppression,
but guarantees diversity and interaction for the sake of global balance.
In
order to transform dialogue from a mere occasion of meetings and discussions,
to a positive interaction that produces remarkable results ensuring a better reality
of life, it is necessary to concentrate on the following:
·
The Circle of Religious Values: Affirmation
of faith in one God, Most exalted, inspiring charity towards other people and
refraining from harming others.
· The Circle of Human Values: Developing moral values that strengthen the tendency
of goodness and curb evil motives.
· The Circle of Mutual
Interests: Concerning matters of
interest to people with regard to improving their life on earth, and protecting
them against the evil aspects of modern civilization caused by imbalance in some
of its aspects.
Lack
of mutual understanding between the dialogue parties, poor opinion about each other
and digging into the graves of history which is replete with painful conflicts are
real obstacles to a meaningful dialogue.
Therefore,
dialogue parties must demonstrate impartiality, fairness towards oneself and
the other, overlook distasteful side of the history and demonstrate the sincere
intention to reach a common ground that can be beneficial to people and based
on solid ground.
We
must review the track of dialogue that began decades ago, earmark, develop and
augment its positive aspects, set aside and correct its negative sides and
adopt those aspects which are more rightly guided. The setbacks that we
encounter now and then, as a result of convulsions that contradict the aims and
objectives of dialogue, and the breach of interaction as well as low voice of
dialogue that we sometimes experience due to one incident or the other, also
increase its importance.
We
welcome the religious, cultural figures and others who share our passion for
the well-being of human family to a fruitful dialogue. A dialogue that must
have all elements of success, such as earnestness and sincere desire for
cooperation to establish joint programs and projects that could contribute to
mankind's happiness, solve its most difficult problems. Programs and projects
that may reduce the causes of tension between mankind's various segments, and
eliminate oppression, aggression and denying peoples the right to free and
decent living.
Finally,
I hope that this World Conference on Dialogue will not meet the same fate as
the other conferences whose sole and major achievements were confined to presentation
of academic researches and theoretical studies, but to transform this endeavor
to working projects that can be useful in the practical dialogue and employed
for the benefit of mankind. These projects would be adopted and implemented by
the conference organizers, especially when it enjoys the special attention and keen
interest of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Ibn Abdul
Aziz Al-Saud in mankind's well-being and happiness.
Therefore,
we shall act, God willing, to crystallize these efforts into an ambitious
institutional endeavor.
The
Muslim World League expresses its thank to H.R.H. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the
Foreign Minister for his care and follow-up as well as the cooperation of
officials in his Ministry, and also to H.R.H. Prince Saud Ibn Naef Ambassador
of Saudi Arabia in Madrid for his cooperation and care.
The
MWL also expresses thank to H.E. Minister of Information, Head of the
We
also express thank to officials in the government of