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General Assembly President voices hope that global meeting on values will spur action - UN News Centre
"..The General Assembly President expressed optimism today that the high-level �Culture of Peace� gathering, which kicks off tomorrow with the leaders and senior officials from dozens of nations, will hasten action on such global obstacles as hunger and poverty. Speaking to reporters in New York, Miguel D�Escoto underscored that the two-day Assembly plenary meeting at United Nations Headquarters is not about religion, which he said can be a �very divisive subject.�.."
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Saudi Arabia to Lead U.N. Faith Forum - WashPost
"..Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich Islamic kingdom that forbids the public practice of other religious faiths, will preside Wednesday over a two-day U.N. conference on religious tolerance that will draw more than a dozen world leaders, including President Bush, Israeli President Shimon Peres and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.. ..The event is part of a personal initiative by Saudi King Abdullah to promote an interfaith dialogue among the world's major religions. The Saudi leader agreed for the first time to dine in the same room with the Israeli president at a private, pre-conference banquet Tuesday hosted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.. ..Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to attend the conference to hear the Saudi King's opening address. Bush is scheduled to deliver an address Thursday. The White House said last month that it welcomed the Saudi initiative and supports "the right to practice one's religion" and other principles of religious freedom enshrined in the U.N. charter.."
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Saudi king's UN appearance has domestic audience - Reuters
"..Saudi Arabian King Abdullah will push for religious tolerance at a U.N. meeting opening on Wednesday, aiming not only to impress the West but also to send a message to domestic opponents of his reforms. "The king wants to drive a message to the Western world: to change the idea that Islam is a religion of war and terror. But he also wants to send a message of tolerance back home where he has a problem," said Jamal Khajoggi, editor of al-Watan daily and a member of the delegation accompanying the king. "The king wants to change the mind-set of the Saudi people and its clerical establishment.".."
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Saudi Arabia to lead UN talks on religious tolerance - IHT
"..Saudi Arabia, which deploys a special police force to ensure that only one narrow sect of Islam predominates in the kingdom, is sponsoring a discussion at the United Nations on religious tolerance starting Wednesday. More than a dozen world leaders are expected to attend, including President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and the Saudi monarch, King Abdullah, making a rare appearance at the UN headquarters. Officially, the United Nations does not sponsor religious discussions, so the two-day session of the General Assembly is being billed as a meeting on the "Culture of Peace," and most of those attending are government rather than religious figures.."
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Saudis in move to improve image of Islam - FT
"..Saudi Arabia is sponsoring a two-day United Nations conference in New York to promote interfaith dialogue to improve the image of Islam as a religion that favours dialogue over violence. The conference, which begins on Wednesday, is seen as part of the Saudi monarch�s efforts to promote a more moderate brand of Islam in a kingdom that has been accused of breeding extremism since the September 11 attacks in 2001. By sponsoring interfaith events, King Abdullah may also be hoping to advance the debate over radicalism within the kingdom.. ..�The dialogue comes at a time when the world is criticising Islam,� the Saudi monarch told local media. �It is regrettable that some of our sons have been tempted by Satan or the brothers of Satan.��.."
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UN meet opens new era of peace - Arab News
"..A special UN General Assembly session on cultural and interfaith dialogue opens at the United Nations headquarters in New York today.. ..UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he had received �an encouraging list� of dignitaries who would take part in the interfaith dialogue. �This initiative will be a very important one in which world leaders, and representatives from different faiths will sit together. They will provide us with very important momentum,� Ban said.. ..The landmark UN meeting comes on the recommendation of the World Dialogue Conference that was held in Madrid on July 16, which was attended by more than 300 leaders representing Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism.."
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Bush, other leaders to promote Muslim-Christian dialogue at UN - CSM
"..The global effort to build a "culture of peace" among Christians and Muslims and other faiths is gaining some momentum this month, both symbolically and substantively. After a groundbreaking meeting between Roman Catholic and Muslim religious leaders last week, world political leaders this week are meeting to heighten the visibility and broaden the commitment to interfaith dialogue. On Nov. 12 and 13 at the United Nations, President Bush gathers with a dozen heads of state and other leaders to lend political backing to interfaith initiatives. The prime minister of Britain, leaders of several Muslim nations, and the presidents of Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine are among those participating. "The idea is to send a unified clear message that the world community is in consensus in promoting interfaith dialogue and speaking against extremism, intolerance, and terrorism," says Rayed Krimly, special envoy of Saudi Arabia, whose king, Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, was the driving force behind this week's meeting.."
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Dialogue among civilizations � New York Declaration to commend Saudi interfaith initiative - Arab News
"..Saudi officials highlighted the importance of the UN conference and said it would promote peaceful coexistence and condemn extremism. �This hits at the extremists, who we say are wrong in terms of Islam,� said Mohammed Al-Zulfa, a member of the Shoura. He described King Abdullah as an advocate of interfaith dialogue. �Our king has a good vision of world peace.� Al-Zulfa said Islam was the first religion to call for dialogue.."
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UN chief invites Saudi king, Israeli president to dinner - AFP
"..Saudi King Abdullah and Israeli President Shimon Peres are expected to attend a dinner hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday, a first for the two heads of state whose countries lack diplomatic ties. Ban said he had invited the two dignitaries, who are in New York for a UN conference on interfaith dialogue, to a dinner later Tuesday, and welcomed the occasion to bring together two leaders who tend to avoid one another. "It's quite unique when you expect President Peres of Israel and the King of Saudi Arabia and many kings and leaders from the Arab world (to) sit down together and having dinner, this is quite encouraging and positive," Ban said.."
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Editorial: Dialogue among civilizations - Arab News
"..The importance of the UN meeting today and tomorrow in New York on dialogue between cultures and civilizations under the heading Culture for Peace cannot be overstated. Dialogue goes to the heart of international relations. The world is no longer made up of different cultures living in their own separate spaces � if it ever was. Thanks to technology, we live in an interdependent global village, mixing in with each other to an extent that was unimaginable even 50 years ago. Muslims, for example, now constitute the second largest faith community in several European countries while in the US, the father of the next president was a Muslim; but equally there are several hundred thousand Christian expats working here in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf. Whatever our faith or culture, we live and work side by side with each other. If we cannot do that without respect for each other, then there is no hope for humanity. There can be no peace in the world.."
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