Hassan Cheruppa

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Speakers in a seminar have commended Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for his historic initiative to bring together followers of various religions and cultures to understand each other properly and remove their misgivings.



They said the King’s interfaith initiative heralded a new era of dialogue that contributed substantially in strengthening the spirit of cohesion and promoting peaceful coexistence among people of various cultures across the world.



The seminar on Islamic life in pluralist societies was organized last week by the Jeddah Souhridha Vichara Vedi (Forum for Harmony and Reflections), a platform of various Dawa organizations among Jeddah’s Keralite community.



Hussain Madavoor, general secretary of the All India Islahi Movement (AIIM), was the keynote speaker at the event held at the Seminar Hall of Masjid Salim Bin Yamani in the Old Airport area.



He said numerous interfaith dialogues and conferences are being held across the world thanks to the King’s initiative.



He said: “These events are instrumental in creating an effective platform for discussing and resolving the common issues arising out of misunderstanding among followers of various religions.



“The global media lauded this new ‘dialogue era’ as it leads to a greater understanding of different faiths and cultures.”



He said ignorance and misunderstanding among followers of various religions often become the breeding ground for extremist and anti-religious groups.



While lauding India’s position as the most diverse and largest democracy in the world, he emphasized that it is an absolute necessity for religious scholars and Indian leaders to organize inter-faith events to promote tolerance and peace.



“In the last century, Sri Narayan Guru, famous social reformer and Hindu philosopher from Kerala, initiated such an interfaith initiative which attracted global attention as he declared ‘it is not to argue or to win but to know and let know’ as the prime motto.”



Madavoor, who is a graduate from Umm Al-Qura University of Makkah with a specialization in comparative studies of six religions, cited numerous examples from the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) regarding how to live in a pluralist and diverse society.



He said: “The Prophet (pbuh) was extremely keen on maintaining warm relationships with people of other faiths while building an Islamic state in Madinah.



“The Hudaibiya Treaty was an ideal example set by him to clinch a workable deal by respecting other faiths and cultures.”



He urged Muslims to become torchbearers of this great example by becoming exemplary models of tolerance and respecting others.



Professor Ismail Maritheri of King Abdulaziz University (KAU) introduced the keynote speaker at the event, presided over by M.V. Saleem.



Professor Shaukat Ali of KAU, and K.T.M. Kutty delivered felicitation speeches.



Abdulrahman Omari recited verses from Qur’an.



T.H. Darimi welcomed the gathering while Abdul Shukoor Ali delivered a vote of thanks.