RIYADH, 15 February 2007 — The Kingdom’s initiative to bridge divides among the Palestinian factions was highlighted in the 22nd National Festival for Heritage and Culture in Janadriya, 45 kilometers north of the capital, yesterday.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah opened the annual festival. Also present were Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman, and other senior princes and officials.
The festival is open to all citizens and residents alike in the Kingdom with special days being assigned to men and others for women.
In the opening speech, Prince Miteb ibn Abdullah, deputy chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee for the festival, the assistant commander of the National Guard for military affairs, lauded King Abdullah’s role rallying Palestinian solidarity during the summit in Makkah last week, saying that it stemmed from his belief of a shared destiny of the Muslim world. “You take care of the issues of the Muslim world and do whatever you can to unite its stance and its destiny,” he said. “This is you. And this is the initiative of the Kingdom since it was founded.”
He said King Abdullah was a role model for Muslims as well as his people. He also said that the summit called by King Abdullah “has spared Palestinian blood from being spilled in internal disputes.”
Prince Miteb also said the festival is becoming internationally recognized as the Kingdom’s premiere cultural showcase
Speaking on behalf of the international delegation members attending the annual heritage festival, Ahmed Rashed, president of the Religious Committee in the Egyptian Council, said that the Kingdom’s call for Palestinians to unite their shared destiny in Makkah was a continuation of King Abdullah’s efforts to serve the Arab and Islamic world. He echoed King Abdullah’s call to unite the Palestinians the same way as Salahuddin, the great Muslim warrior, united Palestinians and then took Jerusalem from the Jews 600 years ago.
Five young boys from Prince Abdul Majeed Center for the Disabled in Jeddah gave a performance before the king on the stage. King Abdullah awarded the King Abdul Aziz Medallion of Honor to Hassan Al-Huwaimil, a writer and thinker who has served his country for more than 40 years. After several poems were read to the king, the annual opera took place. This year’s theme was “the land of love and peace”. Saudi singers Muhammad Abdu, Abadi Al-Jawhar, Khaled Abdul Rahman, and Abbas Ibrahim took part in the orchestration.
Several bands then took to the stage performing dances, each representing a different region from Saudi Arabia. Some of the most prominent bands were from Riyadh, Makkah, Asir, Jizan, and the Eastern Province.
As a first this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is arranging a series of lectures delivered by some ambassadors living in the Kingdom who will narrate their experiences living in Saudi Arabia. The ambassadors of France, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and Egypt will participate this year.
