NEW YORK (AP) - Several Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders reacted warmly to a proposal for dialogue among the religions by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, welcoming the overture from the leader of the strict Muslim country as a major development in interfaith relations.
Specifics of the initiative, including whether Israelis could take part, remained unclear — leading some to caution against too much optimism. Abdullah's proposal comes at a time of stalled peace negotiations and heightened Middle East tension. It also comes amid Muslim anger over cartoons published in Europe seen as insulting the Prophet Muhammad and in the wake of the pope's controversial baptism of a prominent Muslim convert.
But Abdullah said Saudi Arabia's top clerics gave him a green light — crucial in a society that bans non-Muslim religious services. Saudi Arabia, which follows a severe interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism, is also home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina.
"The idea is to ask representatives of all monotheistic religions to sit together with their brothers in faith and sincerity to all religions as we all believe in the same God," the king said Monday night in Riyadh at a seminar on "Culture and the Respect of Religions."
The king's call — the first of its kind by an Arab leader — was described as a "dramatic and important development" by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest branch of American Judaism.
The Rev. James Loughran, director of the Catholic New York-based Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute, also welcomed the proposal, saying he was "elated."
Muhammad al-Zulfa, a member of the Saudi Consultative Council — an appointed body that acts like a parliament — said it was "a message to all extremists: Stop using religion."
It was long overdue, said Michael Cromartie, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which monitors religious freedom globally and makes policy recommendations.
"I don't care who you put in the room — the fact they're having the conversation can only help," he said. "It's a courageous thing for the king to do. One should not expect Utopia, but it's a start to have an open and free dialogue in a country with a reputation for religious oppression."
How the dialogue could impact the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is far from clear. Saudi Arabia and all other Arab nations except Egypt and Jordan do not have diplomatic relations with Israel and generally shun unofficial contacts.
"My cautionary note would be, 'Let's see what he really means,'" said Lawrence Schiffman, chairman of New York University's Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. "We need more details."
Abdullah said he planned to hold conferences to get the opinion of Muslims from other parts of the world, and then meetings with "our brothers" in Christianity and Judaism "so we can agree on something that guarantees the preservation of humanity against those who tamper with ethics, family systems and honesty."
Abdullah framed his appeal in strictly religious and ethical terms, aimed at addressing the weakening of the family, increasing atheism and "a lack of ethics, loyalty, and sincerity for our religions and humanity."
A Saudi official with knowledge of the proposal said it was not intended to have a regional political angle, saying "the initiative is not aimed at the Middle East but at the whole world." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Continue >>
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dygnym: worthwhile to note who bowed to whom in 2009!
Point one: The Christian God is not Allah, the God of Islam and of the Saudi Arab King.
Point two; If the King of Saudi Arabia, who professes Wahabism ( the most fanatical form of Islam) and who pays for mosques and Imams in Europe wants so much a dialogue with Christianism and Judaism, why doesn' t he aloud churches and synagogues to be built in Saudi Arabia? There is even one single church in that country! And in Saudi Arabia the Bible is not aloud! If you have a Bible you go into prison! When the first church is built in that country then this king of Saudi Arabia would have something to share in the dialogue, until then he is going to talk about what? Don't you guess? About more mosques to be built in Europe, and about the veil of course! If this is a dialogue, Christians and Jews have to demand at least reciprocity; the exact number of mosques already build in Europe to the same number of churches and synagogues to be build in Saudi Arabia. But you know that “a good tree bears good fruits”, and what good fruits has wahabism carried into Europe and into the world? If the king of Saudi Arabia wants so much dialogue with Christian and Jewish religions why has the Saudi Shoura Council voted down on Mars 27, 2008, a law promoting respect for other religions and religious symbols?
Does this means we can take chips and chunks from THE CLOTHED STONE in the western arabia and put them to good use as bridge foundation? That is quite a stone they got there
King Abdullah believes "we all worship the same God?" And which God is that? Jesus Christ said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me!!" I can attest to the fact that not all religious leaders believe this. Jesus Christ is God!! Not all religious leaders teach this.
With all due respect, King Abdullah is a pretender to the throne and a false peacemaker. The only true King of Kings and Prince of Peace is Jesus Christ, whom King Abdullah needs to bow before!!!
REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND!!!
"Still, it was not clear whether Abdullah's call would be followed by steps in the kingdom to relax the ban on non-Muslim worship services, as well as symbols from other religions, such as crosses and Bibles.
Religious practice is so restricted in Saudi Arabia that even certain Muslim sects, such as Sufis and Shiites, face discrimination, while conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death."
Hmmmm.....interesting.
It looks like it would help if the King started with his own Kingdom first.
King Abdullah's vision to have a talk with "brothers of other relgions" Jewish and and
Christian is a historic landmark. The purpose of relgion is to build bridges not to build walls.
God can use him to bring a great unity among the Abrahamic religions: Islam, Christianity and
Jewish religions. They all will meet the Prince of Peace one day very soon.