JEDDAH, 26 September 2007 — The board of directors of the Reconciliation Committee in the Makkah region was reconstituted under the chairmanship of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal at a meeting held at the governor’s office here yesterday, according to Nasser Al-Zahrani, executive president of the committee.
The committee undertakes humanitarian and charitable activities such as securing pardon for prisoners awaiting execution for murder. According to the Shariah, the close relatives of a murdered person may pardon the murderer. The pardon is often the result of offering blood money to the heirs of the murder victim.
Over the past few years the committee has succeeded in obtaining pardons for at least 120 persons condemned to death. The committee also improved the strained relations between members of more than 5,000 families, Al-Zahrani said.
The new board members include Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal ibn Majed, Taif Gov. Fahd ibn Muammar, and Undersecretary at the Makkah Governorate Abdullah Al-Faiz and chiefs of the general courts in Makkah, Jeddah and Taif. Businessmen Bakr Binladin, Abdul Rahman Al-Sharbataly, Muhammad Aboud Al-Amoudi, Saleh Al-Turki, and Abdullah Marie Bin-Mahfouz are among the new board members. Al-Zahrani said the reconciliation committee had branches operating in the cities of Makkah, Jeddah and Taif in addition to the Barr Al-Walidain (reverence to parents) division, which works to reunite estranged parents and their children.
It has recently established a philanthropic project called the House of Mercy with the aim of promoting good relations between children and their parents who are not living together, Al-Zahrani said.
“The committee often receives reports from police, human rights groups and courts concerning cases which require intervention,” he said.
Abdullah Bin-Mahfouz achieve greater success in future as it would receive additional support from officials, businessmen, legal experts and intellectuals.
