More than 300 people of different faiths rose as one to applaud King Abdullah after he called for a “constructive dialogue” to “open a new page for humanity in which...concord will replace conflict.”
Seated next to each other in the Pardo Palace on the outskirts of Madrid were Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists from around the world.
As they gathered for the opening ceremony they were seen exchanging greetings and chatting in an atmosphere of friendship, tolerance and understanding, a sight quite unimaginable given the suspicion and mistrust that has marked inter-faith relationships in recent times.
The King said, “most of the past dialogues have failed because they have deteriorated into mutual recrimination focusing on and exaggerating differences in a sterile endeavour that exacerbated rather than mitigated tensions, or because they attempted to fuse religions and creeds on the pretext of bringing them closer together.”
“To succeed we must emphasize the common link between us which is a belief in God.”
Religion is the answer to solve the problems of modern society, the King said. “Man could be the cause of the destruction of this planet and everything in it. He is also capable of turning it into an oasis of peace and tranquillity in which adherents of religions, creeds and philosophies could co-exist, and in which people could cooperate with each other in a respectful manner, and address problems through dialogue rather than violence.
Categories : 
9:39 PM
Moderate Islamist here
0 comments:
Post a Comment