Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz, deputy premier and minister of defense, at the annual reception for leaders of the Islamic countries, Islamic dignitaries, guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and heads of missions who performed Haj this year, in Mina on Sunday. — SPA Saudi Gazette report MINA — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Sunday emphasized that Saudi Arabia won't rest until completely stamping out terrorism and extremism. He also reiterated the Kingdom's resolve to fight the followers of deviant ideology who are misusing the religion of Islam as a means to achieve their vested interests and unlawfully stigmatizing the beauty of Islam with their misleading thoughts. The King's address to leaders of the Islamic countries, Islamic dignitaries, heads of Haj missions and his guests was read out by Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz, deputy premier and minister of defense, at the annual reception at the Royal Palace in Mina, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The King called on the Islamic Ummah to stand united in fighting the scourge of terrorism in all its manifestations. “Terrorism is neither linked to Islam nor to any other divine religion. It is a decayed organ that has no cure except amputation. With Allah's grace, we are restlessly going to amputate it in order to protect our youth from engaging in extremist ideas and vested interests,” the King said. He further emphasized that Islam is a religion of love and peace, a religion that engages in debate and preaches co-existence. It is religion that denounces hatred and intolerance, he said. King Abdullah urged parents and teachers to play an effective role in safeguarding the younger generation from falling into the abyss of extremism. He said that dialogue is an effective means to counter extremism. Taking care in bringing up the children and guiding the youth is a must for a successful dialogue, he said. “We are all responsible for guiding them, and we hope that the scholars, preachers and thinkers of the Ummah will become role models for the youth by showing them the appropriate way to engage in dialogue and interactivity. We also have to convince Muslims that Islam advocates tolerance and moderation,” he said highlighting the pivotal role mothers can play in this regard. “She is considered a school that children learn from at their early age,” the King said. The King asserted that engaging in dialogue is the only way to harmonious and peaceful coexistence. "Dialogue eventually prevents bloodshed and avoids disunity, ignorance and extremism. We hope that peace will prevail in our world. We also hope that the Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue will come out with fruitful results in eradicating terrorism which has caused suffering to the entire world, particularly to the Islamic world. "We have seen, and you may also see, the signs of success in our call for dialogue. It has now become a global cultural phenomenon. We pray to Allah Almighty that dialogue will become a tool for debate and an essential approach for interaction between nations and peoples," the King said. King Abdullah said it was heart-rending to watch the world entering a phase full of hatred, skirmishes and disunity. "History will one day reveal how strange the silence of the international community and all its establishments and organizations was. In some parts of the world, blood of innocent people is being spilled, others are being driven away from their homeland, and their rights abused. Hence, the only way to spare the blood of the peoples of our Islamic Ummah is to firmly face the unjust and not to hesitate to point it out. By doing so, we can restore unity of the Islamic Ummah and sail it to a safe shore and put an end to conflicts and clashes and eliminate unrest and disunity." Only then, he said, the world can enjoy security, peace and love. Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar, Muslim World League Secretary General Abdullah Al-Turki, and other prominent figures also spoke on the occasion. The dignitaries present at the reception included presidents of several countries, including Omar Hassan Al-Bashir of Sudan, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud of Somalia, Mohammad Abdul Hamid of Bangladesh, Abdullah Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives, Rustam Maneja Nov of Tatarstan, as well as Hamdi Jebali, former head of the Tunisian government, Dr. Moulay Ould Mohamed Alagtaf, former prime minister of Mauritania, Jamil Thinnik, Turkish Parliament Speaker, and Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, chairman of the Senate of Pakistan.
