KING ABDULLAH had announced in last March that religious scholars in the Kingdom have agreed on the idea of convening an inter-faith dialogue conference to discuss the ways of holding dialogue with other faiths in the light of the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah. As a follow up to this, the International Islamic Conference for Dialogue was held in Makkah which came up with suggestions and ideas to present the true image of Islam. The Conference was significant in many respects: Firstly, it was held in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, the birthplace of Islam and the cradle of Revelation. Secondly, it was led and inaugurated by the King himself. The conference had not only the blessing but also the valuable support from King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. He gave the opening speech, attended the conference, hosted the distinguished delegates. It was very clear that he was actually behind the dialogue and supported the effort in every way. It was for the first time that a conference or a dialogue was chaired and inaugurated and the keynote speech delivered by the head of the state. Thirdly, the former Iranian president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, gave a major speech after the chair invited a high figure from Iran. Thus the conference demonstrated very significant harmony and unity of the Muslim Ummah. The unity shown at the podium was very clear at the inaugural session where King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was sitting beside the former President of Iran and was also evident in the presence of the Grand Muftis of Saudi Arabia and that of Al-Azhar. Rafsanjani welcomed King Abdullah's proposal of engaging people of other faiths by holding dialogue with them and told the audience: “Let me tell you here that we (Shias and Sunnis) have 95 percent in common. Why should we then allow the difference of five percent to let our enemies play havoc with?” Fourthly, for the first time, figures from various ideological backgrounds sat face to face to discuss how to overcome the hate-filled stance of each group toward one another. Things changed dramatically with this and signs of reconciliation were visible everywhere and the two opposing sides, the so-called Islamists and progressive liberals, were almost ready to bury the hatchet. All began to talk about the importance of peaceful coexistence and the need for maintaining national unity in the face of accumulating pressures to undermine it. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, said: “We cannot live in isolation. We need to cooperate with others to make the most of advancement in all aspects of life.” “Dialogue is deep-rooted in our culture ... Islam has clearly explained the principles of dialogue and areas where dialogue is prohibited. The Prophet's guidance is the best example of translating and achieving this dialogue,” Dr. Abdullah Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), said, “The conference will shed light on the concept of dialogue with followers of various religions, cultures and civilizations.” Thus the dialogue and communication will not only be confined to among the Muslims but will also extend to opening new channels of dialogue with followers of divine messages such as, Christians and Jews, and also with followers of Eastern ideologies referred primarily to as Hinduism and Buddhism. “We are working on opening communication and channels of dialogue with followers of divine messages and Eastern ideologies with a view to realizing the message of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),” MWL Secretary-General Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki observed. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah, gave guidelines, at the inaugural session of the conference, of how to conduct dialogue, by saying, “The way to the others will be through the common values: the values that the Almighty has revealed for man's goodness, the values which discard unfaithfulness and that protect man from crimes and fight terrorism, values that belittle lies and establish moral principles, truth, honesty and justice and enforce family ties.” “Our hearts are full of tolerance and love that the Creator has ordered us to maintain,” the King said. He added, “We will argue peacefully. In case we disagree, we refer to what Allah told His messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) to address non-Muslims: “You have your own religion and I have mine.” Thus, there is an urgent need for dialogue to bridge the gap not only among different religious communities but also to promote understanding among different religions, cultures and civilizations. King Abdullah gave not only a clarion call to surmount the environment of hatred and usher in peace and co-existence from the vicinity of the House of Allah Almighty but also extended his full support to the initiative. He started his address with a prayer to Allah for the determination and strength to take up the Islamic mission of holding cordial dialogue with other faiths even if the other side be hostile. He cited Verse 125, Chapter 16, of the Holy Qur'an: “Invite to the Way of the Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious.” This three-day conference on inter-faith dialogue, organized by the Muslim World League (MWL), at Al-Safa Palace, in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, on 4-6 June, 2008, brought together more than 700 scholars, thinkers, officials of Muslim organizations and dialogue centres and academics from all over the Muslim world and Muslim minorities living in various countries. More than 300 media representatives from the Muslim as well as Muslim-minority regions, were there to cover the deliberations. In attendance at the inaugural ceremony were several leading scholars of the Muslim world, including Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi from Qatar, Lebanon's Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Rasheed Qabbani, India's Darul Uloom Deoband's Marghoob-ur-Rahman, Organization of the Islamic Conference Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Pakistan's Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed and chief of Indian Jamaat-e-Islami Syed Jalaluddin Umri and a host of other distinguished scholars, thinkers and activists. __
