The two-day ASEAN Conference entitled the Best Nation 'Khair Ummah', which was organized by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs of Indonesia, concluded here Saturday. In a final statement, the participants issued a number of recommendations underscoring the importance of the goodness of the Islamic nation and its inclusion of the values of tolerance, moderation, harmony and amicableness. They confirmed that the goodness of the Islamic nation will be reflected in its cooperation to do righteousness. Also they called for imposing the instructions of the holy book of Qur'an and sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). They also called on rejection of partisanship, difference and segregation, taking care of teaching the instructions of Islamic derived from Qur'an and Sunnah, calling for its moderate approach, putting the basics of values of moderation and tolerance and establishing specialized centers for this purpose. The communique also called for benefiting from the modern technology to explain and spread Islam's moderate approach, clarifying the realities of the Islamic religion that show its mercy, completeness and rejection of violence and extremism, spreading studies and research in this regard, and intensifying efforts to combat extremist ideology in all its manifestations and kinds. The participants emphasized the importance of taking care of a spectrum of rights, including human, women and child rights promoted by the Shariah law, enhancing dialogue inside and outside the Islamic world and endeavoring to conclude initiatives that achieve the consensus of the nation rather than difference. Finally, they underscored the importance of highlighting the correct profile of Islam as it is the religion of charity, mercy, justice, faithfulness and equality and that it fights all kinds of grievance and aggression, preserves the dignity of humans, and achieves safe co-existence of minorities among big communities. They called for the exchange of experiences, programs and activities related to moderation and tolerance in their countries. Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Sheikh Dr. Abdul Latif Bin Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh inaugurated Friday the ASEAN Conference entitled the Best Nation "Khair Ummah" under the auspices and presence of the Indonesian Vice President Prof. Ma'ruf Amin. 130 Islamic and intellectual personalities and representatives of religions from 10 countries in Southeast Asia. Sheikh Dr. Al-Sheikh said on this occasion, "In the name of Allah the Almighty, we announce opening the ASEAN Conference the Best Nation (Khair Ummah) from the city of Bali in the Republic of Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, "And we hope that this conference would be a starting point for spreading the message of harmony, amicableness and tolerance, in addition to highlighting the goodness of the Islamic nation." — SPA
