Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, the Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), has called on the annual Crans Montana Forum to welcome the inter-faith dialogue initiative launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz. He said the initiative should be welcomed “for its significance and for its close relevance to the issues propounded during the Forum, based on the understanding that inter-faith dialogue is essential to the dialogue of cultures, the backdrop against which the alliance of civilizations can be initiated, and the surest way to overcome the bitter legacies of the past that affect the relations between the Muslim world and the West in general.” In a speech, Altwaijri described the initiative as “a leading, wise initiative especially that comes from a high-profile personality and from a holy land.” Altwaijri is one of many prominent international personalities taking part in the forum's 19th four-day yearly session, which opened in the principality on Thursday. The ISESCO head said that the three themes to be debated reflect the organization's interests and translate the aspirations of the Muslim world. He pointed out that the issue of “Civilizations facing Globalization” is a key subject in which ISESCO takes keen interest just as it so does in other related intellectual and cultural themes, including “the threats to cultural diversity”, “the Mediterranean at the Crossroads of North and South, the Eastern and the Western Worlds.” He said that the issues to be debated under the second theme, Jerusalem and the three religions of the Book, the dialogue between Christianity and Islam, Islam and its compatibility with modernity, human rights and tolerance, are all of utmost importance and worthwhile of debate among this elite of thinkers, wise men and officials attending the forum.
