Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal held a meeting on Monday with Prince Saud bin Abdullah, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, and Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar to discuss the project named “King Abdullah Oasis for Cultural Dialogue.”
Prince Khaled said Hudaibiya, which witnessed the historic peace treaty between Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Quraish, would be developed to become a social and intellectual meeting place outside Makkah. The Hudaibiya Treaty, which was signed in 628AD, set the stage for Islam’s expansion in the world.
The governor watched a presentation about the project, which underscored the historical importance of Hudaibiya being the meeting place of people from time immemorial. The new project is expected to attract people from within the Kingdom and abroad to exchange views and expertise.
The King Abdullah Oasis, the presentation said, would host conferences and lectures throughout the year. It will have an exhibition center, a media production center, a public dialogue hall and restaurants.
“This is an important project to be established in an important place to highlight Islamic civilization,” said Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adding that the project would be carried out in an architectural fashion that is typical of Makkah with a modern edge.
It is significant that the new project is named after King Abdullah, who has been promoting dialogue between cultures and the followers of different faiths in order to establish world peace and stability.
On March 24, 2008, King Abdullah announced an initiative to hold dialogue between the followers of different religious faiths. He made the historic announcement while receiving delegates of the sixth cultural dialogue between the Islamic world and Japan in Riyadh.
The initiative led to the convening of a World Dialogue Conference in Madrid, Spain on July 16, 2008, which was followed by another conference in the United Nations with the heads of state and delegates from 80 countries participating.
Addressing the dialogue conference in New York, King Abdullah called for a global alliance to fight terrorism, the enemy of all religions.
King Abdullah also established the King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center in Riyadh, which held a number of dialogue forums to discuss pressing issues such as education, unemployment, status of women and health services.
