The UN General Assembly is preparing for the interfaith dialogue initiated by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, scheduled for Nov. 13-14. Dr. Ra'ed Garamali, special envoy to the UN, said the General Assembly members' response to the dialogue was a sign of global consensus for the King's initiative, which he described as “a vehicle for disseminating a culture of tolerance among believers of different faiths and advocates of universal cultures.” The King, he said, attached great importance to the national dialogue to bring together all spectrums of society regardless of political beliefs and doctrines, and described the Makkah Islamic Conference as paving the way for the Madrid Interfaith Dialogue “which hosted believers of all faiths including Jews, Christians and advocates of other universal cultures.” “From here stemmed the King's call for the UN General Assembly to discuss the concept of interfaith dialogue in its ordinary session this year to be attended only by member countries,” Garamali said. “This also sends a strong message about the unity of the world and its unanimous consensus and support to for this dialogue which establishes and reinforces the principles of tolerance and understanding among all people and believers of monotheistic faiths and followers of other cultures.” Garamali said all UN member states would be represented at the highest levels, with the kings of Bahrain and Jordan, the Emir of Kuwait, the Lebanese president and the presidents of the Philippines, Pakistan, Finland and the US taking part in the session alongside prime ministers and foreign ministers and the UN chief. Garamali said the conference would focus on global issues including the global economic crisis and the fight against terrorism, poverty and narcotics. Garamali said that the UN chief had issued invitations exclusively to member states, meaning that no religious or civil rights institutions or those with UN observer status, such as the Vatican, Palestine, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League, will have representation. “As a matter of fact there is an inclination for the UN to adopt the Madrid Declaration because it comes outside the umbrella of the UN.” Garamali concluded by noting that the declaration was distributed in the UN as an official document. – Okaz/SG __
