“This innovative venture is the outcome of an ardent desire for world peace,” said Yesudas, a winner of the prestigious Padmabushan Award, one of India’s top honors.

“When the organizers of this noble event invited me, I was very pleased and felt privileged,” he said. “We human beings have come from the same source. No caste or religion could be a barrier,” he added.

He urged followers of different faiths to make this life a paradise through their good actions.

“It’s our duty to make this life a heavenly one. I have no faith in those who seek another paradise, making the given earthly life a hell in all aspects,” he said.

The IIDI aims at establishing a just, peaceful and sustainable world in which religious and spiritual communities would live in harmony and contribute to having a better world through the riches of wisdom and compassion, replacing religious and cultural fears with mutual understanding and respect.

V.K. Abdul Aziz, director of the Jeddah-based Al-Hayat International School, highlighted the significance of the new organization and urged the followers of different religions to work together for the prevalence of justice, and respecting one another.

He decried the increase in the number of crimes with the rise in the number of believers. “This shows that our religiosity is merely outward, not inward,” he said. “Establishing peace should be the objective of a God-centered society: peace with God by living in accordance with His will and peace with fellow beings by respecting them and working for their welfare,” he pointed out.

IIDI’s executive and advisory council members include Yesudas, Jagathguru Shree Shankaracharya Omkar Anand, Justice P.K. Shamsuddeen, Dr. C.K. Ramachandran, Justice K.A. Abdul Gafoor, Fr. Alber Nambiaparambil, P.K. Ibrahim, Prof. M. D. Nalapat, Fr. Roby, Col. V.S.M. Makkar, Sebastian Paul and K.P. Ramanunni.

Two video programs in English and Malayalam on the Interfaith Dialogue Conferences conducted in Madrid and Geneva at the initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, prepared by Abdul Aziz, were released during the event.