RIYADH, 14 January — A group of senior British Muslims, including members of parliament, will arrive here today as part of an effort to promote dialogue between the West and Islam, the British Embassy said yesterday.
The five-man delegation includes parliamentarians Khalid Mahmood, Bashir Khanbai, Lord Patel and Lord Bhatia, as well as Mohammed Riaz, advisor to the Conservative Party leader Ian Duncan-Smith, the embassy said in a statement.
"The (four-day) visit is part of efforts to promote greater understanding and dialogue between the West and Islam," it said.
The group will discuss with senior officials and the Shoura Council reactions in the Kingdom to regional and international events which have affected Muslims throughout the world. The delegation will also travel to Makkah to perform Umrah.
Meanwhile, the British Council has named Dr. Abdul Hakim Al-Matroudi as the winner of the Prince of Wales Chevening Scholarship for 2002. Dr. Al-Matroudi, assistant professor in the Department of Islamic Studies at King Saud University, Riyadh, proposes to undertake research on the Hanbali School of Law, with special emphasis on the views of Western scholars. He will work at the University of Leeds’ Department of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies.
