Makkah Conference on Dialogue

On 4-6 June 2008 Makkah Mukarramah, the seat of central mosque of Islam and Holy Ka’abah, hosted a unique international conference on Dialogue between Religions and Civilizations.

Written by

Published on

June 20, 2022
On 4-6 June 2008 Makkah Mukarramah, the seat of central mosque of Islam and Holy Ka’abah, hosted a unique international conference on Dialogue between Religions and Civilizations. Fourteen hundred years back Islam emerged from this holy city under the shade of the divine grace and leadership of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless and greet him) as the greatest cementing force of humanity. Within a century it became the voice of Allah on earth and throb of the hearts of the entire human population.
It is significant that the same city of Makkah hosted this conference which was attended by more than 500 representatives of Muslim organisations from all over the world. King Abdullah, who prefers to be called Khadimul Harmain Sharifain, inaugurating the conference in the Safa Palace, which overlooks the Haram Shareef, said that in the light of Qur’anic guidance we have to invite the entire humanity to the way of our Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching and discuss with them the problems of world in the best possible manner.
It was an entirely inter-Ummah conference well-represented by all schools of thought. It was the first step towards a series of inter-faith dialogues with other religions. King Abdullah said that the hearts of Ummah are full of tolerance and love, which our Creator has ordered us to maintain. He called upon the Muslims to counter the challenges of rigidity, ignorance and narrow-mindedness so that the world may appreciate and accommodate the concept and message of Islam. He asserted that Muslim Ummah represents the voice of justice and moral values, the voice of rational approach, justice, co-existence and dialogue and voice of wisdom and admonition. He charted out the roadmap of dialogue, which would be through the common values: the values that the Almighty Allah has sent for man’s welfare, the values which reject unfaithfulness and which protect from crimes and give us strength to fight evil and terrorism, the values which contradict lies, establish moral principles, truth, honesty and justice and reinforce the sanctity of family bonds.
He also made it clear that we will argue honestly, peacefully and rationally, and if there is disagreement, will refer to what Allah has said: “To you your religion, and to me my religion.”
A galaxy of Islamic scholars drawn from every nook and corner of the world belonging to about 150 countries richly contributed to the deliberations in the conference. Your Editor personally interacted with many of them in a cordial atmosphere. He discussed things with delegates from China, USA, a host of European and African countries, and Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and even from small and less known countries like Gabon, Estonia, Barbados, and Barmuda.
It was an excellent opportunity to foster closer relations among Muslim nations, Islamic organisations and Islamic scholars. Hashim Rafsanjani, former president of Islamic Republic of Iran, was one of the main speakers in the inaugural session. It should be appreciated that he did not mince words when he referred to the destructive policies of the USA. Two sessions were chaired by two prominent Shia scholars from Iran and Iraq.
It is expected that the conference would go a long way in fostering closer relations between Muslim nations and enabling them to enter a new phase of dialogue with religions of the world so that on the one hand we may fulfil the obligation of conveying the message of Islam to every human being and on the other forge an alliance of well-meaning people to work for common goals and welfare and salvation of the entire humanity.