RIYADH - A select group of Saudi clerics and intellectuals concluded a landmark four-day meeting Wednesday by calling for wide-ranging reforms in the conservative kingdom. The Convention for National Dialogue, called by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, also urged widening of political participation, more judicial independence and fair distribution of wealth, among many other recommendations. More than 50 clerics and intellectuals, representing the kingdom's various shades of the Sunni majority, in addition to Shiites, Ismailis and some liberals and technocrats, participated in the meeting. They discussed religious extremism, diversity of opinion, rights and duties of women and their role in society, freedom of expression and contemporary fatwas, or religious edicts, and the impact of these issues on national unity. The meeting also took up issues like the importance of common interests with other countries, dealing with non-Muslims from an Islamic perspective and rules governing jihad, or holy war.
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Prince Abdullah said in a message to the meeting that safeguarding the country and citizens against "harmful ideas" was no longer possible through banning or blocking in the face of today's technological advances. "I believe you all agree with me that the most efficient means to achieve this is through ... quiet dialogue that respects the other opinion and allows for free exchange of views," Prince Abdullah said.
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The meeting, unprecedented in the 71-year history of Saudi Arabia, for the first time brought Sunnis face to face with their Shiite and Ismaili counterparts. The latter two Muslim currents have not been recognized in the kingdom, which is dominated by the strict Wahhabi Sunni school.
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The closed-door convention will submit its recommendations over the subjects to Prince Abdullah within a few days. More such conferences are expected in the near future, the sources said. Last month, King Fahd pledged that political and social reforms will go ahead and promised to expand popular participation and open more areas for female employment. "We are a part of this world and we cannot isolate ourselves from it. We cannot stand still while the world changes. We must not remain spectators while all others are racing to form the new world," the king told the Shura (Consultative) Council only days after three suicide bombings in Riyadh. |