JEDDAH: Muhammad bin Ahmed Tayeb, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s regional office, has called upon the United Nations to adopt the resolutions taken by last week’s interfaith conference in Madrid as working plans for its various organizations.
He said the World Conference on Dialogue in the Spanish capital which was called by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, was a big success in terms of the large-scale participation of the leaders of different faiths, and the important resolutions it passed.
“We consider this interfaith conference as a turning point in history. It reflects the vision of King Abdullah who wants to promote constructive dialogue among followers of different religions for the benefit of humanity,” Tayeb told Arab News.
Nearly 300 delegates representing Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and other faiths from over 50 countries attended the conference, which was opened by King Abdullah on Wednesday in the presence of Spain’s King Juan Carlos.
“I hope the United Nations Security Council and other UN agencies will adopt the principles agreed upon at the conference as guidelines for promoting world peace and preventing attacks and discrimination on a sectarian basis,” he said.
Tayeb urged all countries to include the importance of dialogue in their educational curricula, as well as in their regulations, in order to develop a culture of dialogue.
Tayeb said the conference’s success would depend on how the world responded to King Abdullah’s great initiative and how it seized the momentum set in motion by the Saudi leader. “It is the joint responsibility of the followers of all religions to reciprocate positively in order to build on this initiative,” he added.
The Saudi official emphasized that the conference would have great impact on international relations. “We know that religions play a big role in promoting peace and stability and peaceful coexistence among them will boost cooperation among nations,” he added.
He said the delegates had agreed that religion is to unite humanity, not to divide it. “By holding this conference, we Muslims have succeeded in projecting the true face of Islam that stands for peace, justice, equality and tolerance,” he added.
“Islam has a universal message and calls for peaceful coexistence with followers of other religions and it does not want to impose its principles and teachings on other communities,” he explained.
In a related development, the Shoura Council commended King Abdullah for organizing the Madrid conference at a time when world peace is threatened by wars, violence and terrorism.
A statement issued by the council hoped that the conference would play a big role in highlighting the humanitarian face of Islam and removing misconceptions about it.
“It was a good opportunity to establish bridges of contacts with other faiths and uphold common human values,” it said.
