JEDDAH, 16 January 2005 — Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, the Kingdom’s grand mufti, said the people who attack Islam accusing it of encouraging terrorism and extremism and denying human rights are telling lies and know very well they are spreading falsehood.

Speaking at a conference organized by the Makkah-based Muslim World League on inter-culture dialogue, Al-Asheikh said critics of Islam are driven by their enmity of the faith. He called upon Muslims to project the true face of Islam without any excesses or compromises.

“The accusations directed against Islam by those who accuse it of terrorism, extremism and disrespect for human rights and freedom come from people who know they are telling lies. They know very well that what they say (against Islam) is false and deep inside they know they are committing injustice and aggression by behaving the way they do. It is the enmity against Islam deep inside them that drives them to attack Islam,” he told the delegates from different countries.

The conference which coincides with the annual pilgrimage to Makkah aims at preparing the ground for a fruitful and sustained dialogue with non-Muslims to remove misunderstandings about Islam among non-Muslims, achieve understanding and coexistence between different cultures, unite world efforts to confront the common challenges facing humanity and ensure respect for cultural diversity and work to bridge differences between cultures and civilizations.

Secretary-General Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki said the MWL is pioneering a project for the establishment of a permanent center for inter-faith dialogue to be based in a European country and act as a bridge between Islam and other cultures.

The grand mufti said Muslims should benefit from the many available media and other information outlets to spread Islam among the intellectuals and educated of the world.

“Many non-Muslims know very little or nothing about Islam and depend on hearsay, which is usually repulsive and distorted information... They think that what they hear and what they are told about Islam is the truth. It is only through constructive dialogue led by people who very well understand Islam and its teachings that the enemies of Islam could be exposed and their lies refuted.”

Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed told the delegates that dialogue is a “pressing human necessity” and a means for arriving at a higher degree of understanding and coexistence among peoples and countries of the world.

“Saudi Arabia firmly believes that working to serve humanity through dialogue would achieve world peace and ensure security for all by reducing the possibility of confrontation and conflict among civilizations. Dialogue would also unite the efforts to address the problems facing humanity, notably terrorism,” he said.

Prince Abdul Majeed stressed the need for internal dialogue among Muslims themselves, saying this would enable the Ummah to come together and collectively work to end dissent and prevent the seeds of extremism from taking roots.

Dr. Al-Turki said constructive and fruitful dialogue would only be possible when people “free themselves from the superiority complex and stop playing the role of guardians over others”, adding that “superiority and arrogance based on material achievements have led the world to two devastating wars and may lead it into more unjust wars launched under the pretext of defending freedom, human rights and globalization”.