Muslim scholars back call for interfaith dialogue, June 6th 2008
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/110...conference.htmlTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Muslim scholars meeting in Saudi Arabia wrapped up a three-day conference Friday by calling for efforts to ease tensions within Islam and boost dialogue with Christians and Jews.
The conference in the holy city of Mecca was designed to reconcile brewing discontent between Islam's two main branches, Sunni and Shiite, before the kingdom launches a landmark initiative for talks with adherents of other monotheistic faiths.
In a statement reported by the official Saudi Press Agency, the scholars stressed the need for dialogue with other religions to give a "correct picture of Islam" and to reach "out to other sects of Islam, which will lead to uniting the nation."
They also called for "solving the problems and disagreements that might take place among Muslims and other (non-Muslims) ... and to achieve an understanding among civilizations and human cultures."
Saudi King Abdullah, one of Sunni Islam's most prominent figures, spoke at the start of the conference and urged Muslims to get on the same page ahead of opening dialogue with Christians and Jews.
Shiite Iranian politician Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani also attended the conference, and on the first day sat at Abdullah's left in a gesture of unity between the two major sects.
Saudi Arabia has presented its proposal for interfaith dialogue as a strictly religious initiative.
But the initiative also is an effort by Abdullah to present oil-rich Saudi Arabia as a force for moderation in the Middle East, despite the kingdom's adherence to the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam and its religious restrictions at home.
Religious practice is so restricted in Saudi Arabia that even certain Muslim sects, such as Sufis and Shiites, face discrimination, while conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death.