King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, told world leaders on Wednesday at a UN interfaith meeting he initiated that the time has come to learn from the unjustifiable bloodshed and destruction caused by fanaticism from religious and cultural differences throughout history, and to gather around common values “for a more peaceful, more just, and more tolerant world.”“We state with a unified voice that religions through which God Almighty sought to bring happiness to mankind should not be turned into instruments to cause misery,” the King said in the first speech by a Saudi monarch to the United Nations in 51 years, which was delivered at the opening session of the General Assembly's two-day interfaith conference titled “High-level Meeting on Culture of Peace.” “Human beings were created as equals and partners on this planet. Either they live together in peace and harmony or they will inevitably be consumed by the flames of misunderstanding, malice and hatred,” King Abdullah said. “The focus across history on the points of disagreement between the followers of religions and cultures has led to fanaticism,” he said. “Because of this, destructive wars flared out and led to much blood-shedding, which have been unjustifiable by logic or sound thinking. “It is time to learn from the hard lessons of the past and to meet together on the ethics and ideals in which we all believe. What we differ, will be settled by God on the Judgment Day.” Human denial of justice has led to the world's misery, the King said. He called for tolerance and a renewal of family ties to overcome the scourge of terrorism and crime. “Terrorism and criminality are the enemies of God and the enemies of every religion and civilization,” he said. “Had not the principle of tolerance and the wonder surrounding the lives of many young people been absent, they would not have emerged. “ “Drugs and criminality spread only after the collapse of family ties, which God Almighty wanted to remain strong and firm,” he said. The King urged the participants to form a committee on dialogue to continue efforts for years to come toward peaceful coexistence. “Our dialogue, which will be conducted in a civilized manner, is sure to revive and consolidat noble values, among peoples and nations. There is no doubt that this would represent a magnificent victory for the best in mankind's character over the worst in him, giving hope for a future where justice, security and noble life prevails over grievance, fear and poverty,” he said. The King concluded his speech by reminding the audience of this verse from the Holy Qur'an: “O mankind we created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you.” ‘Dialogue that delivers' UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, speaking earlier, thanked King Abdullah for his “dynamic role” in making the UN meeting possible, and Saudi Arabia for a “truly inspiring initiative for global harmony and mutual understanding.” “What we need is dialogue that delivers,” the UN chief said. “We need new partnerships that will continue after the last delegate has gone home.” For this to work, we need to involve everyone. Government officials, grass-roots groups, CEOs, philanthropists, academics and the media. “And we especially need the world's young people. By virtue of their youth, prejudice may not be as ingrained; in a sense, they may have less to unlearn.” More than a dozen heads of state were due to speak, including US President George W. Bush and the leaders of Arab nations. Opening the conference, the president of the UN General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, warned that the world desperately needs to learn the positive lessons of religion. D'Escoto said all religions included “social responsibility,” but that the world has “become contaminated by the spirit of selfishness and individualism.” He hit out at the “unbridled greed” of the “dominant” Western culture Jordan's King Abdullah II also criticized Western policy, saying “ignorance” had subjected Islam to “injustice.” “Millions of people, especially young people, question whether the West means what it says about equality, respect and universal justice. Meanwhile, extremists -- Muslim, Christian and Jewish -- are thriving on the doubts and divisions,” he said. Representing France, former premier Alain Juppe urged “tolerance and building and consolidating peace.” But he laid a very Western emphasis on human rights, especially “recognizing unrestricted freedom of faith in all its forms.” “Freedom of religion cannot be achieved without freedom of speech, even if it is sometimes used to express derision,” he said. The participants are expected to issue a statement emphasizing the goals mentioned in the UN Charter and the Universal Human Rights Declaration. The statement is likely to stress the consolidation of dialogue, understanding and tolerance between people, besides respecting all monotheistic religions, cultures and beliefs. Speakers are expected to voice their concern about growing prejudice, hate and racism against ethnic minorities in various societies, besides ridiculing others' faiths and their leading figures. Sources said the statement would include a special mention to the King's call for establishing a permanent committee including all representatives of religions and beliefs who had taken part in Madrid Conference to keep up the momentum of the dialogue. __
