Okaz/Saudi Gazette “SCOUTS are the messengers of good, love and peace to the whole world. I pray to Allah to help the scouts to contribute strongly in serving mankind and humanity and unifying the ranks between the peoples of the world. Mankind will continue to survive so long as man loves his brother. I believe you have instilled this in the minds of 28 million youths, God willing. I wish you good luck and further success in your noble task whose aim is the good of all mankind.” These are words, which are more than touching, from King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who expressed in eloquent words the mission of the youth – the messengers of peace in the world. These words will be the approach and road to be followed by the Saudi Scouts. Perhaps the outlines defined by King Abdullah for the functions of the youth, the messengers of peace, are the loftiest and best that the Kingdom's youth can provide through the scouts. It is a sincere call from a Monarch who believes in dialogue and believes in and recognizes others as human beings. This is the school of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques – the first to establish the concept of interfaith dialogue in a historic conference in New York. It is true that in the era of globalization, people are coming closer to one another and communicating more thanks to the technological revolution. However, we are still in need of deepening the concept of human interaction and instilling a universal message that defends man, whatever color he might be or wherever he resides. We are now in dire need of messengers of peace who reflect a beautiful image to the world. They will uphold the loftiest values – the values of good, peace, justice, moderation and peaceful coexistence. Yes, there is need for those values in a world in which the forces of good and evil are in constant struggle. The world needs messengers to carry the values of truth and good wherever they go and wherever they stay, to safeguard this planet, in which Allah Almighty has made man His successor. “And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: Verily, I am going to place (mankind) generations after generations on earth.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 30). These messengers can spread in the word in a humanitarian fashion so good and peace prevail. Universal message These concepts and expressions have found, through Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, Minister of Education and Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association, a model road for carrying a universal message to the whole world. Naturally, universal humanitarian calls like this should emanate from people who believe in them and present them well to the world. Next September, King Abdullah and the King of Sweden are scheduled to launch a new initiative linking the Scouts' work and the model of world knowledge, deriving inspiration from King Abdullah University for Science and Technology, as we are witnessing the birth of the “messengers of peace” from the KAUST campus, with the participation of 2,000 scouts from within the Kingdom and 1,500 others from more than 80 countries. A figure such as Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, with the sincerity, cultural importance, creativity and attractiveness that it bears, along with the fact that he believes in the other and cultural dialogue based on respecting the other's culture, is the best representative of Saudi Scouts in the world. He strongly believes in the call and strategic visions of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for a more secure, peaceful, safe, understanding, tolerant and moderate world. From this gateway – the messengers of peace – the Kingdom cannot only provide a lot of good to the world, but all that it needs for good to prevail for all mankind. Why Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah? Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, chairman of the Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association, representing the Kingdom in the world reflects the determination to implement the concept of peace in its loftiest form by a man who devoted his efforts to become “The Ambassador of Peace” for the Kingdom of Peace. Prince Faisal – who sees “The Messengers of Peace” as not only the message of Islam, but of all religions, as the language of peace and a lofty and noble humanitarian discourse – is establishing the concept of dialogue, interaction, giving and helping others, and supporting the needy. With this deep vision, one can build a new village in a world reeling with fear, violence and instability. It can be named “The Village of Humanity.” Perhaps this will be an alternative village that deserves respect according to the concept of globalization. If globalization is the only means for narrowing the gap between viewpoints and decreasing the boundaries, the message of the messengers of peace is the cross-border call and merger. As the message and the task is purely humanitarian, Prince Faisal is an effective voice for conveying the universal humanitarian message and because the Kingdom is the land of peace and “The Kingdom of Humanity,” support from King Abdullah will be the biggest motivation for the Messengers of Peace project. The King – the leader of good initiatives As King Abdullah is a world leader with an international vision, his selection of Prince Faisal reflects his confidence in his capabilities and keenness to convey this noble message to the world. As such, the launching of the idea of the Scouts and the messengers of peace with support from King Abdullah was an important and crucial step in the march of humanity. Prince Faisal carries out this role because of his belief in the idea of the King in the service of humanity. He envisions that the whole world confirms the soundness and value of King Abdullah's vision, which comes in the forefront of global dialogue. Therefore, in this way, the voice of peaceful dialogue will defeat the call for hate and violence at the global level and there will be a search for trustworthy people to carry his noble message to all societies and disseminate the message of peace. Prince Faisal's selection was based on the resolve and eagerness of the youth worldwide. With this march, each scout will have a pivotal role in consolidating the messages of love and peace, and the concepts of moderation and peaceful coexistence in this tumultuous world that is witnessing unprecedented changes. __
