On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, welcomed participants of the Counter-terrorism International Conference and said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the cradle of Islam which advocates equality and friendship. In his inaugural address here today, Crown Prince Abdullah pointed out that Islam is the religion of wisdom, adding that false slogans raised by deviant groups run counter to the teachings of Islam. "Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam (Peace be upon him) is the prophet of mercy, and Islam is the religion of mercy, and it is impossible to link Islam with terrorism." The convening of the conference, which includes countries of different civilizations, religions and systems provides a clear evidence that victims of terrorism are from various countries irrespective of their civilizations or religions. "Terrorism does not belong to a certain religion or system, and it is carried out by evil and spiteful persons who are fond of killing and destruction," the Crown Prince noted. "The conference embodies the determination of the international community on confronting criminal gangs in all places, as well as combating false ideas, and facing the extremist rhetoric with moderation and tolerance." Crown Prince Abdullah noted that the terrorist network is closely linked to three criminal international networks, namely the networks of arms smuggling, drug smuggling and money laundering. "It will be difficult to attain victory in our battle against terrorism unless we decisively confront these three criminal networks', he said. --More 1529 Local Time 1229 GMT
