Bless the Interfaith Conference starting July 16th

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=111737&d=12&m=7&y=2008

Al-Jubeir stresses importance of interfaith conference
Barbara Ferguson Arab News

WASHINGTON: As part of a Saudi outreach to defuse interfaith tensions, improve Islam’s image, and restore respect for religious values, an interfaith conference will be held on July 16 in Madrid, Spain, under the patronage of King Abdullah.

The announcement of the interfaith dialogue has sparked intense interest from Jewish and Christian groups around the world, and came after the Saudi king held talks with Pope Benedict at the Vatican last year.

The aim of the meeting is to reinforce the common values shared by these faiths, said Saudi Ambassador to the US, Adel Al-Jubeir who met with members of the US media at the Saudi Embassy in Washington Thursday to discuss the upcoming conference.

“The idea (for the conference) stemmed from King Abdullah’s view that there are universal values that are common to all faiths, and that if we focus on those universal values there is a lot more that binds us as human beings than divides us.

“If we adhere to those values we will be able to overcome adversity, we will be able to achieve peace, we will be able to protect the structure of the family, we will be able to maintain values in our society and our life and essentially make our world a better place,” said Al-Jubeir.

The conference will focus on four major themes: The importance of dialogue in human society; the foundations of religious and civilizational dialogue; the common human aspects in dialogue; and the evaluation and promotion of dialogue.

Also invited are well-known theologians, political scientists, and sociologists working on issues of international cooperation, human rights, security, peace and joint coexistence in the world.

The Vatican’s top inter-religious dialogue figure Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, Israeli and American rabbis, and intellectuals and writers such as Francis Fukuyama and Karen Armstrong will attend.

“The King is committed to bring humanity together, irrespective of our faiths. This is a vehicle that cuts across religion and ethnicities, and brings us together as human beings,” said the ambassador.

While the conference is not expected to achieve any significant breakthroughs, it is hoped that it will open a continuing inter-religious dialogue between faiths. “We think of this as a first step. It is our hope that this will be followed by many steps,” said Al-Jubeir.