World Conference on Dialogue Discusses in Its Second Session

Issues of Dialogue and Its Significance in Human Society

Madrid  - World Conference on Dialogue organized by the Muslim World League in Madrid under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud continued its proceedings and held its second session on Thursday morning 14/7/1429H (17/7/2008). The session which was chaired by Dr. Saleh Ibn Abdullah Ibn Humaid, Speaker of Shoura Council in Saudi Arabia discussed the issues of second theme: Dialogue and Its Significance in Human Society." Four research papers were presented in the session.

Dr. Ibn Humaid opened the session, thanking Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque for his patronage of the conference and for his vision of dialogue. He also thanked King Juan Carlos I of Spain for holding the conference sessions in Spain, the land of existence and dialogue. He also thanked the Muslim World League for its better organization of the conference. He laid emphasis on a number of human terminologies whose significance was agreed upon by saner people from all nations and communities.

The first speaker in the session was Rev. Nichiko Niwano, President, Japan Committee, World Parliament for Religion and Peace, who presented his paper entitled "Dialogue and Interaction of Civilizations and Cultures. In his paper, he emphasized the need of narrowing down the gap between different peoples, so that they don't become victims of reactions, anger and hatred. He clarified that purposeful dialogue should be based on respect of others' characteristics, confirming the existence of many common values between various religions and philosophies. He commended the Makkah Appeal made by the International Islamic Conference for Dialogue as important element for holding dialogue.

The second speaker, Dr. Abdelhadi Al-Tazi, Member of Royal Academy in Morocco presented his paper on "Dialogue and Its Impact on International Relations". First of all, he expressed his thank to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his unprecedented initiative for holding this august conference. He highlighted the rich heritage of Muslims in respect of international relations.

The third speaker of the session, Jose De Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the Philippine parliament presented his paper on "Impact of Religions on dissemination of Ethics in the World". He praised the role of Muslim World League in establishment of peace in Philippines through the efforts of its officials. He called upon the United Nations (UN) to agree on establishing a council of religions. He said that the world is faced with corruption in different areas of the public life, and it is necessary to seek the help of religion so that it can play its role in reformation of the society. He called upon the followers of various religions to cooperate for consolidation of moral values.

The fourth speaker, Dr. Redwan Naef Al-Sayyed, Chairman, International Institute for Islamic Studies, Lebanon presented his paper on "Dialogue in the Face of Calls for Clash of Civilization and End of History." He said the concepts such clash of civilization and end of history have now become a part of the history, as the saner people of the world have rejected these concepts. He called upon saner people of the world to dialogue and coalition of civilizations, as the international conflict is basically a colonial and political issue. He suggested that World Conference on Dialogue should issue a constituent document which includes the establishment of a secretariat to put together the concerned working groups in order to make positive influence on the world order through the human commonalities agreed by all

After that, the speakers answered the questions in the wake of their papers. The session also listened to a number of comments from those concerned with the issues of dialogue, who called for transformation of dialogue from theoretical level to a practical level.