The world has been challenged by King Abdullah's initiative to continue to build bridges between civilizations and cultures, according to UN High Representative of the Alliance of Civilization (AoC), Jorge Sampaio, the former president of Portugal. Sampaio said this during a lecture he delivered at the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) here Wednesday. The lecture was attended by a number of officials from the Saudi ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture and Information, the World Health Organization and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Speaking on how best to proceed in the quest for interfaith dialogue and international understanding, Sampaio said, “I think we have to take into account various levels of opinion. One of course is the level of the representatives of the churches or the faiths involved. Others are the points of view of intellectuals and cultural organizations.” He added that it is important to avoid cultural misconceptions. “I don't think when you have a statement or the expression of an expert opinion coming from one society that it necessarily represents that society,” said Sampaio. “I always say that this does not represent the society, it represents the particular man or woman expressing a particular point of view. We have to understand this and be attentive so that misconceptions do not arise.” “I have heard many arguments and I understand what people are trying to say. But please let us not get stuck in the usual debate. Let us instead try to find the way forward so that we can learn to understand others,” he said. The OIC Secretary-General Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said that the lecture has special significance because it was held as part of the OIC's observation of the year 2010 as the international year for rapprochement for intercultural and inter-religious dialogue as provided for under UN resolution A/62/90, which is the outcome of the initiative presented by Kazakhstan, an OIC member state. He also said, “Although our mandate is to cater mainly for the interests of the Muslim world, in many instances we cater for the concerns of all humans from different cultures and faiths.” He added that the OIC and the Alliance of Civilization share the same goals and objectives, and travel the same journey for the better of humanity. Dr. Ihsanoglu said that since 1998 the OIC has been a pioneer in advocating the dialogue of civilizations as an alternative to the theories of clash among civilizations. The OIC's sincere efforts in advocating the dialogue of civilizations is rooted in Islam's sacred scriptures, he pointed out. Islamic teachings go beyond and transcend mere dialogue, to attain familiarity and cordiality among all human kind, he said.
