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Saudi Arabia To Establish A National Dialogue Center
King Fahd Bin Abdel-Aziz of Saudi Arabia has agreed to establish âKing Abdel-Aziz National Dialogue Centerâ with an aim to boosting and widening the process of national dialogue and consultations. Saudi Al-Watan newspaper has published a speech by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel-Aziz to the Saudi people Sunday, August 3, in which he said that King Fahd agreed to set up a national dialogue center to be a practical means for developing a constructive dialogue in the kingdom. The Crown prince added that such a center would be âa historical achievement that contributes to finding an effective channel for expression in the fight against extremism and fanaticismâ.
| It'll be interesting to watch people holding a national dialog while rolling their eyes and making faces. Didn't the U.S. have a "national conversation" on something or other a few years back? That worked well... |
The Crown Prince emphasized in this regard the necessity of applying the ethics of dialogue âthat should be based on the worthy Muslim ancestorsâ traditions adopted by the kingdom.â He pointed out that those worthy Muslim ancestors had only been arguing through wisdom and good deeds.
| "I mean, they hardly shot each other up at all..." |
They followed the traditions of prophet Mohammed, may Godâs peace and blessings be upon him. âSaudi leadership and people wonât allow the freedom of dialogue to turn into nonsense and attacks against our enlightened symbols and scholars,â he reiterated.
| That's Arabian for "say something out of line and we'll whack you." |
âThis nation canât generate ideas that deviate from the constants of the Islamic doctrine. It wonât also accept ideas contrary to the instructions of Islam and adopt false notions to justify the evil objectives of horrifying Muslims,â he added.
| "So nothin's gonna change, so just forget about it." |
âOur Saudi people do not accept any alternative for moderateness that denies fanaticism as well as deviation from the righteous path.â
| "If they do, we'll just cut their heads off." |
Prince Abdullah pointed out that the Saudi kingâs approval of setting up the center came in the wake of holding âthe national gathering for intellectual dialogueâ that concluded its activities on Wednesday June 18, in which an elite of citizens of different tendencies participated. More than 50 intellectuals and religious leaders representing the Sunni majority and minority Shiite as well as the technocrat and liberals participated in the gathering that made its recommendations Friday June 20 to the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. The recommendations denied religious extremism and emphasized the necessity of dialogue for a better coexistence.
| I guess one man's extremism is another man's moderation... |
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-08-05 |
