Newsletter No. 1082
Editorial-Opinion
July 17, 2008

 

THE SAUDI AMBASSADOR ON THE DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILIZATIONS

Faisal Hassan Trad, the ambassador of Saudi Arabia in Tokyo, published an opinion piece in the Asahi Shinbun today highlighting the significance that he finds in the Dialogue Among Civilizations project. In particular, he draws attention to the Japanese angles of the initiative. This is the second opinion article by an Arab ambassador that the Asahi published this week.

Dialogue of Faiths Aims to Unite Mankind
By Faisal Hassan Trad
Special to the Asahi Shinbun
July 17, 2008

During an audience with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud by participants of the forum titled "Dialogue Among Civilizations between Japan and the Islamic World," which was held in Riyadh last March, the king proposed a dialogue among followers of the world's major religions, civilizations and cultures to advance the cause of peace. His initiative was ratified by the International Islamic Conference for Dialogue organized by the Muslim World League under the king's kind patronage and guidance in Mecca on June 4-6. The meeting was attended by a number of distinguished Muslim personalities from all over the world. The initiative and the conference have achieved their principal objectives in crystallizing a universal Islamic viewpoint on dialogue and sending out an invitation to the world to embrace the collective attitude of the Muslim community as a whole (umma).

The Muslim World League has received a huge amount of correspondence from renowned intellectuals and foundations confirming the significance of this conference, which brings together opinion leaders as well as renowned individuals devoted to peace and justice. The three-day conference that brings together leaders of various religions got under way Wednesday in Madrid. Spain was chosen as the venue of the conference because of its historical location and contribution to civilization. The king, in his capacity as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is thus seeing his cherished aspiration realized. It is a significant event.

It is hoped the conference will prove to be a practical qualitative move in the march of human dialogue. It should also be an opportunity for a thorough review of the recommendations agreed upon by Muslims at Mecca. The conference is intended to help build a better future for mankind, one that is augmented by religious beliefs, values and ethics as well as shared human norms. By promoting better understanding and co-existence among the nations of the world, it is hoped that mankind will return to noble values revealed by our Creator, which help preserve the coherence of the family that forms the basis of societies everywhere.

The conference will discuss the significance of dialogue among followers of the world's various religions irrespective of faith and culture based on common human values: These concern justice, peace, safety and security. It is also important to promote good ethics and family coherence as well as confronting the maladies of terrorism, injustice, drugs and racism.

The conference also has the following objectives:

- To confirm the significance of religion to correct basic wrongs in communities around the world;

- To highlight both successes and failures of past efforts at dialogue, as well as to start afresh from a united viewpoint on this issue;

- To study the obstacles that stand in the way of those promoting such dialogue from achieving the desired results;

- To confront those who promote clashes among nations and peoples.

There are universal values that are common to all faiths. By focusing on these universal values, mankind will find there is more that binds us than divides us.

More than 300 prominent individuals are attending the conference. They include: Nichiko Niwano, president of Rissho Koseikai; the Rev. Kunihiko Shimamoto, chief director of the Oomoto Foundation; and Yuzo Itagaki, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo.

Through this conference, I hope that the Japanese delegation, including representatives of Buddhism and Shintoism, will be able to reinforce the common values shared by other religious faiths, namely Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Confucianism.