 Participants who gathered in a preliminary session of the 5th National Forum for Dialogue which is to be held in Abha, have asked that the word "infidel" be substituted by "other" in all religious and media speeches in the Kingdom when referring to non-Muslims.
| Oh, that'll work. I like the sound of "kill all the others!" much better than I like the sound of "kill all the infidels!" |
They also called for better upbringing according to universal Islamic teachings of children, where youngsters would learn how to properly deal with "others" and called for religious institutions in the Kingdom to acknowledge their mistakes and correct them in this matter, whether they were in the judicial system or during sermons in mosques. Furthermore, they said that the hatred taught about non-Muslims in the educational system and in the media should stop and called for a definition of "religious standards" on how to deal with non-Muslims. Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, deputy head of the National Forum for Dialogue who attended Wednesday's preliminary session in Abha, said that efforts must be exerted for permitting what he called "an open channel" where citizens would express their concerns and discuss matters of interest at all levels. Dr. Naseef also stressed in his opening speech the importance of how we deal with others and others' feelings about us. He also said it was important to know our shortcomings in our dealing with others, adding that it was equally important to improve the way we deal with others, no matter where they were or where they come from. |
