Islam 'must do away with dangers of extremism'

Riyadh: Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz said Islam must do away with the dangers of extremism to present the religion's "good message" to the world as he opened a conference of Muslim figures yon Wednesday, aimed at launching an interfaith dialogue with Christianity and Islam.

The three-day gathering in Makkah seeks a unified Muslim voice ahead of the interfaith dialogue. In particular, Saudi Arabia hopes to promote reconciliation between Shiites and Sunnis.

King Abdullah walked into the conference hall yesterday with Iranian politician Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who later sat on the king's left on the stage, sending a message that the Sunni kingdom does not have a problem with moderate Shiites like him.

King Abdullah announced in March that he wanted to sponsor an interfaith dialogue between the world's monotheistic religions, including Jews.

He said yesterday: "You have gathered today to tell the whole world that ... we are a voice of justice and values and humanity, that we are a voice of coexistence and a just and rational dialogue."

He addressed 500 Muslim delegates from about 50 Muslim countries.

He said the Islamic world faces difficult challenges from the extremism of some Muslims, whose aggressions "target the magnanimity, fairness and lofty aims of of Islam".

"That's why [the conference] invitation was extended - to face the challenges of isolation, ignorance and narrow horizons, so that the world can absorb the good message of Islam," he said.

"The way to reach out to the other will be through the common values that were preached by God's messages, which were sent for the good of the human being," Abdullah said.

"We will start our dialogue with the others with a confidence derived from our belief in God ... and we will argue in a polite manner," he said, acknowledging that there will be points of convergence, as well as differences.

"What we disagree upon we will refer to Allah's saying (in the holy book, the Quran): You have your religion and I have mine," he added, in an apparent willingness to respect the beliefs of others.

Rafsanjani praised Abdullah, saying: "Before we speak with other religions, we must speak among ourselves and reach an understanding on a particular Islamic path", calling for greater understanding between Sunnis and Shiites.