Faisal, Emir of Makkah, launched Prince Khaled Al-Faisal Chair for Promotion of Saudi Moderation Course at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) here, Tuesday. “I have found some interest at this university in the consolidation of moderation policies following my lecture here on Saudi moderation. I have had the honor to accept the initiative of the university to launch this scholarly chair,” Prince Khaled said during the inauguration ceremony. The Emir said that the subjects he had studied during his school days did not give due justice to the history of this “miracle” country in the middle of the desert “as if it were not founded on an intellectual thought process.” “This country did not come into being through a military coup or a UN resolution or a plot meeting in a Mediterranean island, but rather through the decision and willpower of the Arab man,” he said. Modern Saudi Arabia is an extension of the first Saudi rule, he added. Prince Khaled hoped the Chair would focus on research in the field of the intellectual history of this county. KAU has started its work to ensure the quality of research funded by the Chair to promote values of moderation to serve the entire country, said Osama Tayyeb, President of the university. The audience was shown a video documentary on moderation as a way of Muslim Ummah and a gateway of the country. The Chair aims to raise social and cultural awareness of “harmful ideologies such as extremism either to the right or to the left while displaying true Saudi moderation,” said Mahmoud Safar, a Chair professor. The Chair Consultative Committee then held its first meeting headed by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and memberships of Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Dr. Osama Tayyeb and other intellectuals.
