Those who underrate the achievement of the Fifth National Dialogue Forum held in Abha by the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue are missing the point. This was a gathering of some of the best minds in the Kingdom frankly addressing important issues under the theme of “Us and Others”. The discussions ranged from Islamic diversity within and without the Kingdom, to the role of women and the Saudi view of foreigners, issues that even ten years ago would not have been debated in the same way.
Saudis need to be looking at themselves and their relations with the rest of the world, because that world is changing and the Kingdom is changing too. By confronting the challenges inherent in this process and discussing them in a calm and informed manner as happened in Abha, Saudis are taking a step toward making the necessary adjustments, which will be the stronger for the fact that they have been considered so carefully.
On one level, the concept for “Us and Others” is completely false. Modern travel and communications have shrunk the globe. The climatic changes taking place, for whatever reason, affect everyone regardless of where they live. The international community has been united in the face both of the scourge of international terrorism and the devastation of natural disasters, like the tsunami and the Kashmir earthquake.
On another level Islam unites Saudis with the hundreds of millions of Muslim throughout the world and the Haj and Umrah in their turn every year bring millions of Muslims to the Kingdom. One of the welcome conclusions at Abha was that more must be done to promote cultural exchanges with these visitors.
On a third level, the idea of “Us and Others” needs to be embraced as part of a celebration of the differences that exist from country to country and from culture to culture. Multinational big business may imagine fondly that “globalization” will produce some awful commercial homogenization, but the reality is that as the people of the world draw closer together, it should be done with respect for and recognition of their differences. In this respect, delegates at Abha agreed that the Kingdom had some work to do on its own attitudes and relations with the foreigners who live and work here. They needed to be treated both ethically and civilly. The diversity among Saudis themselves was also examined. Underpinning this debate was the existence of different schools of Islamic thought within the Kingdom. As he wound up the third and final day of the proceedings, King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center Secretary-General Faisal ibn Muammar agreed that this was an important issue, but warned that outsiders should not be allowed to use any differences among Saudis to create internal divisions.
What with WTO accession, booming financial markets, a groundbreaking budget and the most ambitious-ever five-year plan, the last twelve months have witnessed profound and exciting changes. The Abha conference could not have been better timed to consider their implications so thoughtfully.
