The United nations is expected to announce Monday the final list of participants and the security arrangements for the meetings between religious and international leaders on the fringes of the 63rd UN General Assembly to be held on Nov. 12-13. The session, to be opened by President of the General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, has been convened, following a request by King Abdullah, under agenda item 45 “Culture of peace” in order to “inform the General Assembly of the process initiated at the World Conference on Dialogue held in Madrid on July 16-18, 2008.” King Abdullah will address the session following the UN Secretary General's opening speech. Discussions among member countries are currently being carried out on the final touches of the declaration to be announced at the end of the meeting, which sources say will emphasize the importance of dialogue, understanding and tolerance among nations, and respect for the diversity of religions, beliefs and cultures. The declaration is also expected to address the international community's concern over increasing feelings of intolerance, discrimination and hatred toward religious minorities in many countries, and offending of religious symbols and using religions to justify violent acts. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, is expected to convene a press conference on Tuesday and address the importance of the meeting in supporting the spirit of cooperation among countries and religions, and its role in peaceful coexistence and solving disputes all over the world. Earlier Ki-moon lauded the pioneering role of King Abdullah in the service of world peace. The UN chief described the dialogue conference as “an important opportunity to instill understanding and respect among the followers of different religions and cultures.” Michéle Montas, spokeswoman for the Secretary General, said the conference would create a climate for settling political issues on which countries and groups differ. Montas quoted Ki-moon as saying that “all differences can be solved through dialogue. Therefore, the continuation of such an initiative will be a fundamental part of the efforts of the UN and the international community.” The UN Secretary General stated that the Saudi initiative was of great importance in giving support to the gathering of political and religious leaderships, and expressed his pleasure at the positive response to the initiative from heads of state and governments. Miguel d'Escoto, president of the UN General Assembly's current session, added: “I'm convinced that we will all find in our religions and cultures solid ground for adopting the logic of love and solidarity.” “We must all strive together to convert this into a basic driving force for the sake of mankind,” d'Escoto said. Universal support Officials from the Kingdom, the Arab World and Muslim organizations have also voiced their support for the conference. “King Abdullah's view of dialogue is universal. He realizes that in the divine messages and the followers of divine religions and cultures there is a common ground for confronting and solving mankind's problems,” said Abdullah Bin Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki, Secretary General of the Muslim World League and Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee for the Makkah and Madrid conferences. “For this reason, the Madrid Declaration focused on a common vision and principles agreed upon by all. The recommendations, which were unanimously agreed upon, focused on spreading the culture of dialogue by holding symposia and conferences in different parts of the world.” “King Abdullah's call for dialogue is an expression of his interest in the coexistence and cooperation between peoples and civilizations as adopted by the Kingdom's leadership in its internal and foreign policies,” Al-Turki continued. “This is evidence that the culture and civilization from which the Kingdom builds is characterized by openness, flexibility and the common good for all mankind. The King realized the problems mankind was suffering from in terms of morals, the family, neglecting the teachings of religion and conflicts between peoples, societies and civilizations, and initiated the International Islamic Conference for Dialogue that was held in Makkah and which laid down an Islamic platform for dialogue. Then came the International Conference for Dialogue in Madrid, which focused on common ground that were agreed upon by the followers of the divine messages and different oriental cultures.” Al-Turki said the King's call for the world and its peoples to adopt dialogue aimed to ensure mankind's security by creating a world in which peace and understanding prevail to enable man to reap the fruits of advancement and prosperity. He added that the “Islamic goals and goals for all mankind that the King was striving to achieve would fulfill the hopes of Muslims and the peoples of the world.” Imad Al-Falouji, Chairman of the Palestine-based Adam Center for Dialogue between Civilizations, said: “The initiative by King Abdullah represents the Kingdom's wish to extend bridges of dialogue, boost cooperation and instill love between the peoples of the world. It also confirms Islam's desire to bolster cultural intercommunication with the followers of other religions and sects.” Al-Falouji valued the Kingdom's determination to hold conferences after consultations with the Muslim Ulema on their meeting with representatives of the three religions during the Madrid Conference last July and the initiative to hold a meeting at the UN to activate the initiative on the ground. Al-Falouji said the step would receive unanimous support due to the current crisis across the world. “This crisis has destabilized the balance in justice, right, reason, morals and humanity,” he said. “It requires all religions to shun violence, injustice, family disintegration and atheism in the world and work to strengthen values and morals.” Foundation for togetherness Abdullah Bin Biyyah, Deputy Secretary General of the World Federation for Muslim Ulema, described the King's initiative as a “pioneering endeavor”. “It will form the basis for the efforts of Islamic and international organizations working in this field, and will set the tempo and specify the goals with a clear strategy. Hamid Al-Rifai, Chairman of the World Dialogue Forum, said the dialogue was based on three practical steps, the first being the bringing together of Muslim Ulema to achieve understanding between them and laying down a vision on how to hold a dialogue with others through symposia and conferences until the concept, mechanisms and intentions of dialogue are well-established within the Islamic context. The next step is for the Muslim Ulema to convey this Islamic vision to Christian and Jewish scholars. Then would begin the start of a joint Islamic, Christian and Jewish vision. Al-Rifai said the King then pledged to take this world team of Muslims, Christians and Jews to the UN.” Atta-ul-Mannan Bakheet, Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said that dialogue in contemporary history started in the ‘50s and ended with the offensive Danish caricatures in 2005. “It is unfortunate that the stage in which the Muslim side had taken the initiative in dialogue collapsed with the publishing of the caricatures,” Bakheet said. “The second stage has started now with the emergence of the future of dialogue.” “The presentation of the dialogue at the UN and before world leaders emphasizes its importance,” he added. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, Imam and Sheikh of Al-Azhar, and Ali Jum'ah, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, are also scheduled to take part in the UN General Assembly meeting. – Okaz/SG __
