The Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL) stressed the importance of the interfaith conference in opening dialogue with other cultures and religions in order to help dispel the misconceptions of Islam. The three-day conference will take place in Makkah on June 4 with over 500 Islamic scholars from different Arab and Islamic countries attending. One of the days of the conference will be dedicated to a dialogue with the religions and cultures of Southern and Eastern Asia. Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, Secrtary General of the MWL, said those two regions will receive more attention because they form a significant portion of the world's population. “The followers of Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Shintoism living in the Indian sub-continent and Korean Peninsula constitute one third of the world's population,” Al-Turki said. Al-Turki called upon the Islamic institutions and dialogue organizations to benefit from the historical links between Islam and other religions. Historical figures like Mahatma Gandhi commended Islam for its tolerance and justice, factors which Al-Turki used as examples to demonstrate Islam's positive influence in the world. He said Mahatma Gandhi praised Islam on several occaisions saying, “Islam is the voice of justice. When the West was in darkness Islam emerged in the East as a bright star generating peace in the hearts of the troubled across the world. Islam is not a false religion. Islam was not spread with swords.” Al-Turki said Muslim rulers who controlled Eastern and Southern portions of Asia, allowed their subjects to retain their religious and civil systems, demonstrating its historical tolerance of other religions. “Without dialogues like this with different groups around the world, the integrity of relations between the world's nations is undermined. The MWL is keen on cooperating with other Islamic organizations in order to better mankind and spread the universal message of Islam,” Al-Turki said. Several Hindu, Buddhist and other religious leaders have expressed their desire to cooperate with the WML and to learn about the Muslim principles of tolerance and coexistence. Shoura Council President, Dr. Saleh Bin Humaid will chair the first session of the conference, which includes a presentation of several research papers demonstrating the importance of dialogue in the Qur'an and Prophet's experiences of intercultural dialogue. Dr. Hassan Muhammad Maqbouli Al-Ahdal, Professor of Shariah at Sana'a University in Yemen said the interfaith conference comes at a delicate and crucial time noting that the dialogue offers a unique opportunity to introduce the values of Islamic culture. As well as to remove any misconceptions of Islam in order to pave the way for peaceful coexistence between Muslims and other religions. – Okaz __
