Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal said Friday that religious freedom in the Kingdom, the land of the Two Holy Mosques, is a decision for the Ummah (Muslim world) to make. “The Kingdom is the cradle of Islam and a country where millions of Muslims come every year to perform the Haj and the King is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Thus the Kingdom is responsible for (reflecting) the desire and will of the Ummah worldwide,” Prince Saud said at a press conference here Thursday night with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The foreign minister was replying to a question on whether, by initiating the world interfaith conference which concluded Thursday at the United Nations General Assembly meant that Saudi Arabia would tolerate the practicing of other religions within its borders. When he was asked how the Kingdom could make a call at the UN for religious tolerance when it does not practice it at home, Prince Saudi said: “Discussing religions runs counter to the spirit of both the Madrid and New York conferences. We have agreed on not touching on beliefs and instead focusing on the common values so that people can be brought together with open minds and hearts to achieve more progress.” “But from the outset, we should stress the importance of changing the self so that you become different from what you are now. Otherwise nothing would be achieved,” he added. Prince Saud said the unprecedented support garnered at the UN reflects the importance of respecting and glorifying common principles and values shared by countries, “which in essence should make us support the culture of peace and rely on dialogue so as to reject the so-called clash of civilizations and all efforts to divide.” “All religions call for enhancing peace amongst peoples of the world, for reinforcing common values and for refraining from rekindling conflict and pushing the world toward conflict and confrontation. Quoting from the King's speech at the Madrid Conference that had brought together representatives of different religions and faiths from around the world last July, Prince Saud said: “We meet here today to reiterate that all Divine religions are for the good of man. Hence they should be used as means and principle to achieve man's happiness. To the world I say that differences should not lead to conflict and confrontation and I make it clear here that mankind's disasters were not from religion but from the extremism of some followers of some religions.” Prince Saud said it is important to focus on points of common understanding and to avoid controversies so as to understand others' views of others. About how to explain Israel's stand toward the Arab peace initiative, following the statements made by Israeli President Shimon Peres in his speech at the interfaith conference, Prince Saud said he was disappointed that Peres only talked positively about parts of the Arab peace plan and didn't mention others. “It is not a peace proposal that you can divide into what is acceptable and what is not acceptable,” Prince Saud said. “It's a package deal and it was presented as a package deal. “And so I think we still have a long way to go to be able to say that Israelis and Arabs see eye to eye on how they look at the peace proposal that the King has made.” The Arab peace plan initiated by Saudi Arabia calls for Arab recognition of the Jewish state in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from all lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war. But Israel objects to relinquishing all territory and the right of all Palestinians to return, and it wants to keep a unified Jerusalem as its capital. Ban Ki-moon read the declaration issued by the UN interfaith conference, which concluded on Thursday with participants from 80 nations rejecting the use of religion to justify acts of terrorism, the killing of innocent civilians, violence and coercion. The declaration expressed concern at “serious instances of intolerance, discrimination, expressions of hatred and harassment of minority religious communities of all faiths.” The participants “underlined the importance of promoting dialogue, understanding and tolerance among human beings, as well as respect for all their diverse religions, cultures and beliefs.” Ban Ki-moon read the declaration near the end of the two-day meeting which was initiated by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and brought 14 world leaders to New York including the US, Pakistani, Afghan and Israeli presidents. – Okaz/ SG __
