King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, inaugurated the fifth Shoura Council here Tuesday with a call to overcome the mounting challenges facing the Ummah, both in the country and at the Arab and Islamic levels, with vigilance, strength, patience and unflinching faith in God. The inauguration ceremony was held at the Shoura Council headquarters. The Shoura Council consists of 150 members appointed by the King for four-year terms. Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Aal Al-Sheikh, the new Shoura chairman, received the King on his arrival, following which the royal anthem was played and verses from the Holy Qur'an were recited. The King, in his speech telecast live on Saudi TV, called for a redoubling of efforts to counter the challenges facing the Ummah. The challenges are the “Israeli aggression that creates injustice in the land”; the Palestinian dispute between brothers, “which is more serious in jeopardizing our just cause than the Israeli aggression”; the Arab and Islamic differences “that are favored by the enemy and are very painful to our friends” and, above all, “the global and regional aspirations, each with its own suspicious objectives.” The King said that the Arab peoples caught in this engulfing darkness see a bleak future with their destiny threatened and their hopes thrown into disarray. But the Ummah has a long record of victories despite the sufferings and wounds, the King said. “It has triumphed over despair. It has been launched from the plain of bitter reality to the heights of rising to the challenge, surpassing itself and now seeking to unite its ranks and positions,” the King said. “We will continue, God willing, until every difference is eliminated, knowing that victory cannot be achieved for an Ummah that is engaged in fighting itself, and knowing that the world does not respect any people except the strong and enduring.” Culture of dialogue In the last few years, the Kingdom has effectively used dialogue to promote understanding, formulate common visions and spread the culture of tolerance among nations, the King said. “Wars, conflicts and the accompanying concept of the clash of civilizations have weakened the values of love and peace in the international community. Religions have been forced into conflicts and the course of extremism,” the King said, explaining why Saudi Arabia then took on the Islamic responsibility of presenting a way out of the “ethical and political malfunction” dilemma. What resulted was the Makkah call to all peoples and governments, of various religions and cultures, which defined the Islamic vision and course of action to address the ethical crises, political differences and cultural clashes plaguing mankind “This Islamic vision constituted a basis for dialogue with the other, concerning all problems and calamities in our contemporary world,” the King said. “It also defined the basis for confronting the cultural challenge for the Islamic World, and it laid the foundations for an international policy seeking to reformulate contemporary international relations according to a new concept of spreading the culture of tolerance and dialogue” for the cause of peace, stability and prosperity the world over. The next step Saudi Arabia took to activate the Islamic vision of relations among countries and peoples was the Interfaith Dialogue Conference in Madrid. “In his conference, I presented the message of the Islamic Ummah to the whole world,” the King said. “I announced that Islam is the religion of moderation and tolerance and I called for constructive dialogue among the followers of religions and cultures with the aim of opening a new chapter in the history of mankind in which love and concord replace tension and conflict.” “And we sought through this message to focus on the commonality among the followers of religions and cultures and underscore the noble values of each religion and culture while respecting the peculiarity of each creed and culture,” the King said. Saudi Arabia's efforts to spread the culture of dialogue and tolerance culminated in the Interfaith Dialogue: “Culture of Peace” Summit at the United Nations. “We used the forum of the United Nations to mobilize international political support with the aim of accelerating the spread of the culture of tolerance and dialogue and transforming common human goals to actual practices in the behavior of peoples and the course of governments,” the King said. “Then, I reminded the international community that focusing on points of differences among the followers of religions and cultures leads to fanaticism and sows seeds of sedition and animosity. In turn, this creates conflicts that might take the form of destructive wars which are not justified by any Divine religion or ethical principle. The New York Declaration that ensued from the summit supported the visions and thoughts introduced by Saudi Arabia to fight the negative phenomena threatening international security and stability and undermining the principle of fraternity among peoples, the King said. It called for supporting international initiatives advocating respect of human rights among the followers of various religions, protection of the environment, spread of education, fighting poverty, narcotics and crime, “while underlining the positive contribution of religions and humane and ethical values to confronting the common challenges,” the King said. Israeli threat to world peace On regional issues, the King hit out at Israel for its continuing atrocities against the defenseless Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip. Condemning Israel's “flagrant violation of human rights, the values of justice and the principles of peace,” the King said: “It is also a dangerous indication of the loss of international peace and security. If this aggression continues, it will lead the whole Mideast region to the brink of abyss and this will threaten world peace.” Speaking about the impact of the global economic crisis, the King said that by facing up to the problem “firmly and wisely”, Saudi Arabia has been spared its worst consequences though “We are still watching the situation with caution and vigilance.” Saudi Arabia is engaged with other major economies of the world in trying to find solutions to the crisis, the King said, noting in particular the Kingdom's role in the Group of 20 whose leaders are due to meet in London on April 2-3. But alongside international efforts, it is necessary to push ahead the wheel of development and progress in Saudi Arabia, the King said. He said “there is a need to bring about achievements by all means for a decent life for our citizens.” Sound financial policies King Abdullah said that despite the severe global crisis and low oil prices, the government has stuck to its development plans and their financial appropriations because of “the firm bases of the Saudi economy and the sound financial policies we adopt.” He said the main priorities of the Kingdom's budget of the current fiscal year, which are aimed at the welfare for the citizen and the country, reiterate the strength of Saudi Arabia's economic situation and the soundness of its financial course. The budget included new development programs and projects totally valued at over SR225 billion, an increase of 36 percent over last year's appropriations. The King said the budget took into consideration investment of financial resources in a manner that achieves comprehensive and sustainable development while giving priority to services that directly affect the citizen – including the educational, health and social services. He said public debt at the end of fiscal year 2008 fell to SR237 billion or 13.5 of GDP compared to 18.7 percent at the end of 2007 __
