JEDDAH, 29 December 2003 — No sooner had the second national dialogue forum started debating yesterday how to root out extremism than some Saudi intellectuals warned the King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center could ossify into an ivory tower.
“We hope that the center will live up to its mission to promote free dialogue rather than become a mere academic research foundation,” Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, quoted the intellectuals as saying.
One of 70 thinkers taking part in the forum questioned the center’s authority in unilaterally inviting 15 researchers to present academic papers for discussion at the forum.
“Extremism and Moderation, a Comprehensive View,” is the Makkah forum’s main theme. The participants including nine women are to debate the research papers in 14 sessions over the next four days.
Dr. Rashid Al-Rajeh, vice chairman of the Makkah forum, defended the selection of research papers and said it was done to provide a framework for the dialogue.
He said the participants included businessmen, religious scholars, intellectuals and academics. “They are given full freedom to discuss whatever topics they deem suitable,” Asharq Al-Awsat quoted him as saying.
He said the organization of the forum was never intended to impose any particular viewpoint on others. “The chairman is there just to organize the dialogue,” he said.
Sheikh Saleh Al-Hosain, who chairs the meeting, stressed the need to integrate free national dialogue into the Saudi way of life, which would in turn help the reform process. “Dialogue is a way of discovering people’s opinions on various issues, so that they can be made known to decision-makers,” he said in his opening address.
Prominent intellectual Dr. Turki Al-Hamad, who was not invited to the forum, described the King Abdul Aziz Center as “a pioneering idea” which could help promote tolerance throughout society.
But the lineup of research papers did not bode well, Al-Hamad warned. “If what I heard is correct, most papers presented at the forum represent a single viewpoint, and this conflicts with the nature of dialogue,” he said.
Al-Rajeh said the criticism was premature since the five-day forum had barely started. “The aim of the forum is to discuss all issues in light of different viewpoints, not focusing on jurisprudence aspects only.”
According to Al-Rajeh, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, approved 22 of the recommendations of the Riyadh forum and most of them had been implemented. “Some recommendations will take time to implement,” he said.
At the forum yesterday, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Luwaiheq presented a paper on “Extremism in a Comprehensive Shariah Perspective.” Extremism, he said, was fueled by a lack of full understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Tareeqi’s paper — “The Relationship Between Ruler and Ruled, Rights and Duties of Citizens and Their Relationship with Extremism” — called for a revival of the open-door policy, laid down in Article 43 of the Basic System of Governance, to strengthen the relationship between Saudis and their rulers.
Debates take place behind closed doors. But Faisal Abdul Rahman Al-Muammar, secretary-general of the center, said opening and closing sessions will be open. “It’s a new experience, which may succeed or fail,” he said.
The Makkah conference follows a landmark meeting held in Riyadh in June, which ended with a call for wide-ranging reforms in the Kingdom and led to the establishment of the dialogue center.
The first convention produced a long list of recommendations including broader political participation, more judicial independence and fair distribution of wealth, among many other things.
