Speakers in the second day's sessions of the inter-faith World Conference on Dialogue under way here hailed King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, as a peacemaker and initiated debate about establishing the King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Global Center for Inter-Faith Dialogue. “No statesman realizes the need for peace more acutely than King Abdullah whose Kingdom lies in the vortex of an imagined ‘clash of civilizations,'” said José de Venecia, a Filipino who is vice president of Christian Democrat International and chairman of CDI-Asia Pacific International Conference of Asian Political Party. “The world community needs to build a bridge of mutual understanding and co-existence between peoples,” De Venecia said. “And none has spent more time than His Majesty has in this bridge-building effort. Not only has he reached out to his estranged Shiite brethren, he has also met with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican.” “Already King Abdullah has gained a worldwide reputation as peacemaker because of his effort to mediate between the Palestinians and Israelis as well as between the Palestinian factions (Fatah and Hamas). “His land-for-peace proposal is widely regarded as the best formula for settling the protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And now, King Abdullah has also taken the leadership of the oil exporting countries' effort to damp down soaring oil prices.” De Venecia called for institutionalizing inter-faith dialogue so as to build on the momentum gained in Madrid.. “From this inter-faith dialogue, we should expect no miracle except those that result from open hearts, the willingness to see the other side's viewpoint, and a great deal of patience,” he said. “To institutionalize these dialogues, my country has proposed setting up an Inter-Faith Council in the United Nations system, not just a focal point in the office of the Secretary General or in the Economic and Social Councl to coordinate and monitor these dialogues. “If creating a new council is overly difficult, – as some legalists have warned – then perhaps, we could write an inter-faith mandate in the mission order of the Trusteeship Council, which has anyway run out of trust, territories to supervise.” “I asked King Abdullah, King Juan Carlos and all of us in the Madrid dialogue to lead a movement to create this Inter-faith Council in the UN.” De Venecia's proposal received a positive response and was taken up by everybody, leading to expectations that Friday's communiqué may contain a statement to this effect. Nichiko Niwano, president of Rissho Kosei-Kai, a Japanese lay Buddhist organization, and also president, Japan Committee, World Parliament for Religion and Peace, said in his speech that he shared the same goals as Muslims. Speaking on ‘Dialogue and Interaction of Cultures & Civilizations' , he said: “The wonderful opportunity to participate in an inter-faith meeting such as this reaffirms my belief that the members of the Muslim World League and the Islamic faith are striving towards the same goal as mine.” “King Abdullah who graciously hosted the International Islamic Conference in Makkah (in June) noted that dialogue is the best way to make progress. I would like to express my profound admiration and heartfelt gratitude towards King Abdullah and the MWL who have in the spirit of the proclamation of the Makkah Conference called for and organized this global inter-faith conference in Madrid. Dr. Nihad Awad, Executive Director, Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) spoke on ‘Ethical Reality in Contemporary Human Society', dwelling on the state of morality in the world today and the need for a common code of ethics. “It seems that those who perpetrate ills – pornography to gambling to prostitution – have networked and interacted across borders, faiths and ethnicities,” Awad said. “It is incumbent upon those who have shared values to cooperate across borders, faiths and ethnicities, to not only counteract these ills but also to spread good moral values.” Rabbi Arthur Schneier, founder and chairman of Conscience Foundation Call, USA, found reason for the beginning of an end to global tensions. He announced his rejection of the idea of a clash of civilizations because that contradicts with the wish of God that calls for peaceful and harmonious coexistence among all people around the world. He said he expected conflicts to end and understanding among the followers of the revealed messages, cultures and civilizations to prevail. Rejecting injustice, violence, hatred and racialism, and condemning the attacks launched against Islam, Schneier said: “I want to thank His Majesty King Abdullah for his initiative in convening with the MWL this inter-faith dialogue. “Your Majesty, your personal perseverance gives impetus to broaden the dimensions of existing inter-religious dialogue and reinforces the premise that religious communities and leaders can and must play a role in easing world tensions.” Beyond inter-faith tensions, the conference also addressed the growing global environmental threat. Rev. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, Rector, Pontifical Institute for Arabic Studies, Vatican, speaking about ‘Protection of Environment as a Common Human Duty' said: “The subject of ecology arises as a genuine point of convergence, a joint mission to see to the protection of our earthly city in a spirit of unity, within our diverse respective religious traditions; as one, to protect human life and the life of the planet, and to create a better world, a world of peace towards creation and towards all our brothers and sisters.” Wednesday's first work session had the theme Dialogue and its Religious and Civilization Foundations. It was chaired by Dr. Bawa Jain the Secretary General of Millennium World Peace Summit for religious and spiritual leaders of the UN. The participants discussed four working papers. Dr. Hussain Hamid Hassan, Shariah observer at Dubai Islamic Bank talked about dialogue in Islam. Dr. Naguib Gabriel, head of Egyptian organization for human rights talked about dialogue in Christianity. After that Rabbi Arthur Schneir talked about dialogue, and then, Dr. M. M. Verma, Director of Interfaith Foundation in India, talked about dialogue in oriental creeds (Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism). __
