RIYADH, 15 April 2008 — The 41st conference of the Federation of Arab Universities, which was formally opened here on Sunday by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, aims at promoting higher education and scientific research in the Arab world.
The conference began in earnest yesterday at Riyadh’s Naif Arab University for Security Sciences with more than 160 presidents of Arab universities taking part. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Ghamdi, the president of Naif University, welcomed the guests and hoped that the conference would be able to bring about new ideas to promote higher education in the Arab world.
In his opening address, King Abdullah denounced deviant ideology that promotes terrorism and said Saudis would stand firm against terrorists.
“Crimes begin from sick and deviant minds, especially terrorism. While confronting terrorists, we should also deal with this murderous ideology that transforms deceived youth into tools of killing and destruction,” the king said.
King Abdullah emphasized the moderate teachings of Islam and said extremists would fade away like they did in the past and the moderate majority would prevail. He also commended Saudi security forces for their bravery and sacrifices in defeating terrorists. “There is no place amongst us for those who take weapons against us,” the king said quoting a saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Dr. Dawood Abdul Malik, president of the University of Science & Technology in Yemen and the conference chairman, said Arab universities must contribute to improving the economic and social condition of people in the Arab world.
Dr. Saleh Hashim, president of the federation, stressed that Arab universities must focus more on scientific research in all areas, especially those related to Arab development plans.
