STATEMENT BY CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH
[Islamabad, Pakistan - October 19, 2003]

Praise be to Allah, who said in His Glorious Book: "And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah, and beyond bounds." And Prayer and peace be upon Prophet Mohammed who said: "The Muslim is the brother of another Muslim whom he never fails or exposes to injustice."

From the land of the two Holy Mosques, the cradle of the true message, the site of the revelation that descended on Prophet Mohammed, and the quiblah for all Muslims, I came to bring with me the genuine affection and friendship of your brothers in Saudi Arabia.

The relations that bind us are not transient nor founded on material interests, but are relations that are bound in spiritual brotherhood which the passage of time has deepened and fortified.

The birth of Saudi Arabia and the birth of Pakistan reflect the embodiment of a great Islamic vision that led the journey of our founding father King Abdulaziz and Your founding father Mohammed Ali Janah, may Allah send His mercy on them.

My Brothers,
We do not claim perfection because perfection is God's alone. And we do not claim infallibility, for infallibility is a trait of the Prophet's alone. What we can say is that you and us have proven that Islam can serve as a strong basis for the state at all places and times as it had always been throughout the lone centuries and formed the foundation of a glorious civilization for which we both belong. The feeling that our history and destiny are the same is what derives one in this auspicious occasion to speak to you as a brother to his brother inspired by the saying of the Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him as saying "Religion is advice."

My Dear Brothers,
The immediate duty that awaits Muslims in every Muslim country is of two parts: The first part is deepening and strengthening national unity within each Islamic state, and the second part is the establishment of relations between Muslims and non-Muslims on a healthy and sound base. Please permit me to mention with some details these two issues which represent a serious challenge to all Muslims. We cannot establish real progress in an Islamic society that is burdened with differences and torn by quarrels and dissension. I believe, with a little reflection we can daresay that the reasons for these differences and contradictory views in every Islamic country lies in the plague of fanaticism which the Holy Qur'an repudiated totally. Fanaticism leads to extremism which in turn breeds terrorism and that threatens the social order all together.


Our religion is the religion of tolerance and moderation, and there is no place in it for the purveyors of hate and grudges. Our Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, has exemplified kindness, mercy, compassion, and the highest ethical standards. There existed with him in Medinah those who manifested their faith but covered the opposite thereof. Yet he did not question their intention and accepted what was apparent in their behavior. He said, "I shall not allow people to say that Mohammed turned against and killed his companions." He entered into a truce with his adversaries in Hudaibeyah which was described in the holy Qur'an as a glorious victory. And when Allah honored him with the conquest of Makkah, thus gaining mastery through the grace of God over his enemy, he graciously pardoned them saying: Go, you are free.

This is the Sira of our Prophet, a Sira filled with love, shining with kindness, gentleness and high morality. He was taught by God Almighty the highest degree of compassion and forgiveness as is testified in the following tradition: "Kindness ennobles all things; absence of kindness spoils them." He further said: "No Muslim shall terrorize another Muslim."

These are the real teachings of God and the Prophet. And yet those criminals, who sow corruption on earth, shed blood and kill the innocent, claiming always that they do their evil things to please Allah and his messengers: "Mighty is the word that comes out of their mouths. They utter nothing but a lie."

The only guarantee, after God, for the stability of the Muslims and their advancement is the fraternal love that links them together. The Islamic land is the possession of all Muslims - men and women. There is no difference between one sect and another. And since we concede the right to everybody to follow the school of thought which he prefers and thinks to be the right one, we must grant the same right to others.

Dialogue cannot be conducted with bullets. The daw'wah cannot be carried out by violence. And Jihad can never be an act of aggression. Real dialogue is the dialogue of wisdom and fair preaching in accordance with God's command, "Invite (mankind O Muhammad) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better." Thus the real daw'wah is the one that is based on goodness and persuasion. True Jihad is conducted only against aggression.

It is high time to rid our society of the seeds of fanaticism and hatred, and, instead, plant the seeds of tolerance and unity.
Dear Brothers,
A small group of murderous terrorists were able to spoil our relations with non-Muslims, and distort the image of Islam and Muslims. We have to confront this deviant group and its false claims, and establish our relations with non-Muslims on a sound basis of mutual understanding.

It was Allah's will to create mankind into distant individuals and individual tribes and nations, not to kill each other, but for the purpose of coming to know each other and to cooperate into a glorious human enterprise, which is the creation of civilization on this planet:



- Perhaps Allah will make friendship between you and those whom you hold as enemies. And Allah has power (over all things) and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

- "O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware."

- The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better, then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend."

- There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghur and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Known."


Our relations to non-Muslims should not be based on disinformation, misinterpretation, or false slogans, but on God's eternal dictat, "Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity."

Those who incite us to antagonize the world, they bring upon us loss and extinction. Those who want to isolate us from the world, they mean to inflict weakness and backwardness on us.

The natural place for a Moslem is not in dark caves nor in secret terrorist cells, but in the front lines joining in the making of Islamic civilization in the brightness of the day, as was done by our ancestors in the golden age.

It is a significant duty to Ummah, as described by Almighty, to show by its behavior and conduct a shining example of moral interaction as exemplified by its Prophet Mohammed, whom God Almighty described: "And Verily, you (O Muhammed) are on an exalted (standard of character)." This responsibility is further clarified in the verse: "Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islam) enjoying Al-Maa'ruf and forbidding Al-munkar and it is they who are the successful."

My Dear Brothers,
Experience taught us that wars result only in destruction, and accordingly we decided to pursue our legitimate rights through peaceful means, and to knock on all doors seeking solutions, including the adoption of the Arab peace initiative at the Beirut summit. This initiative institutes a true example of the choice of peace that we hope will realize the legitimate rights of our brothers in Palestine, foremost of which is the right to establish their independent state with Al-Quds Al-Shareef as its capital. For this, I praise the efforts of my dear brother Pervez Musharraf on his initiative to announce a plan of action to finish the problem of Jamu and Kashmir by way of negotiations. I hope that God will help him in his efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement that safeguards the legitimate rights of the people of Kashmir, and avoid destructive war between India and Pakistan.

My Dear Brothers,
Our path is not free from thorns, and the horizon is not clear of black clouds; but the believer does not despair or accept disappointment. The believer is patient in crisis, optimistic in the face of adversity with infinite trust in his God under all circumstances.

All our problems are amenable to solution, if we face them with bravery, relying on God's assistance, lightening our path with the Holy Quran, following the Sunnah of Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him. God never fails to deliver on his promise, and he has promised us victory and the strength to stand firm if we achieve his victory. In God's will, we shall do so. I cannot find a way to end this talk better than the words of Allah Almighty: "O you who believe! Endure and be more patient (than your enemy) and guard your territory by stationing army units permanently at the places from where the enemy can attack you, and fear Allah, so that you may be successful."