RIYADH, 20 December 2003 — Prince Miteb ibn Abdullah, assistant deputy commander of the National Guard for military affairs, has highlighted the significance of the Janadriya seminar on “Keeping the Arab House in Order” and said its recommendations would be presented to the Arab League.
He was speaking to reporters after opening the cultural programs of the Janadriya Heritage and Culture Festival on Thursday. Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, inaugurated the annual event on Wednesday.
“The seminar is organized to highlight the need for reforms in the Arab world,” Prince Miteb said. But the seminar’s recommendations will not be distributed among Arab leaders, he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Saeed ibn Misfer Al-Qahtani gave a lecture yesterday on “Extremism: Reasons and Remedies” and said extremism was not a general condition of people in the Kingdom.
“It’s an exceptional condition,” he added. However, he emphasized the need for a nationwide campaign to protect the youth from being infected by “this disease.”
A Qur’an recitation contest will be held from today until Thursday on the sidelines of the festival, organizers said, adding that some 300 students would take part competing for prizes worth SR300,000.
“For the first time this year there will be a separate Qur’an recitation contest for girls,” a statement by the committee said. It starts today and ends on Wednesday.
Several lectures have been planned for the women’s section. Dr. Fatma Naseef will give a lecture on “The role of family in the formulation of thinking.” There will be a seminar on “The role of society in reforming individuals,” which will be attended by Dr. Awatef Ashraf, Dr. Sanaa Al-Thaqafi and Afaf Hamadi.
More than 180,000 people visited Janadriya on Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Last year the event attracted over a million visitors.
