RIYADH, 20 June 2006 — Abdullah ibn Abdulmohsen Al-Turki, secretary-general of the Makkah-based Muslim World League and Zaki Yamani, former minister of petroleum and mineral resources, will address a high-profile international Islamic conference that opens in the Indonesian capital Jakarta today.
Event organizers said Turki would give a lecture titled, “Islam and global challenges”.
The three-day event will feature 300 Muslim leaders, intellectuals and scholars from different countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, Egypt, Iran, the United Kingdom, Australia, Algeria, Syria, Japan, France, the Netherlands, Pakistan and India, Arif Suyoko, a spokesman of the Indonesian Embassy, said yesterday.
The dignitaries invited to attend the conference include Pope Benedict XVI, Jordan’s King Abdallah and European Union Secretary-General Javier Solana.
Yamani will present a paper on the topic titled, “Responsible exploitation of natural resources toward sustainable development of mankind.”
The Nahdatul Ulema (NU), Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization which is organizing this event, said the conference sought to promote peace and tolerance among Muslim nations. According to a statement from the group, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech titled, “Strengthening relations between East and West, reducing conflict among Muslim Ummah”.
About the aims of the conference, Hasyim Muzadi, NU chief, said the objective of the event was to concretize the role of religion and to formulate the value of Islam for global peace and justice.
The conference will also debate important topics, including women’s empowerment, the environment, the implementation of Sharia for Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries, the Islamic brotherhood and Islamic education among Western societies.
