MADRID: The interfaith conference that begins here tomorrow received unprecedented welcomes from the leaders of different religions across the world.
“The conference will contribute to finding solutions that are in the interest of all, especially in the Middle East,” David Rosen, chairman of the International Jewish Committee on Inter-Religious Consultations, a broad-based coalition of Jewish organizations, said.
Ali Al-Samman, head of the Interfaith Committee of the Supreme Islamic Affairs Council at Al-Azhar in Egypt, expressed his happiness at the fact that the call for dialogue comes from Muslims themselves.
Nihad Awad, chairman of the Islamic-American Relations Council in Washington, said Muslims in the West highly appreciated Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s initiative on interfaith dialogue.
“King Abdullah’s initiative for the conference receives strong support from the Muslim community because it is the true reflection of the desire of the Muslim scholars and thinkers who participated in the recent Makkah conference,” Secretary-General of the Muslim World League Abdullah Al-Turki told a press conference in Madrid yesterday.
While King Abdullah will open the conference, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will address the opening session.
Al-Turki said the MWL invited leading personalities without considering which group or country they belonged to. “Participants would not represent any political party or organization and special care was taken to select only people who view dialogue as a means to overcome the obstacles that stood in the way of the future of the humanity,” he added.
He stressed the significance of choosing Madrid as the venue for an interfaith conference.
“Madrid, with its unique heritage of cultural and religious coexistence, served as a transit point between Islamic culture and the Western world,” Al-Turki said. “At this conference, we will aim to focus on a shared world vision far removed from the religious discords and political differences, and lay the basis for the followers of various heavenly religions to initiate dialogue over matters of common concern.”
Al-Turki said the conference would be an opportunity for Muslims to highlight the Islamic vision of solving the problems faced by the humanity as a whole.
