Daniel Akill-Attieh's Blog | 339: INTER-FAITH CONFERENCE IN MADRID II – What He Said, You Said, We Said, They Said, and I Say. Now, Use Your Brain, (If) You’ve Got One

Dear Readers and Fellow-Apes; 2008 was a Murky and Hapless Year! Let us hope that 2009 does not turn out to be even More Murky and Hapless!

I intentionally did not wish you a Merry Christmas, because Christmas is another story for another Posting at another time; and I do not wish you a Happy New Year, since I believe that ONLY FOOLS ARE, OR CAN BE, HAPPY ALL YEAR ROUND. I do, however, wish all of you A GOOD YEAR! With a little Good in one's life, one can be a little happy, which is all one can ask for in one's short sweet dream one calls a life-time. BY GOD AND SATAN!

A Jack of many trades and master of all; I am honest to the core and I hate lies, deceits, pretensions, hypocrisy, treachery, betrayal, and stoic compliance; and I despise – and actually pity – Human-Apes who follow-the-herd-or-pack

I expose and reveal the lies, deceits, pretensions, hypocrisy, treachery, betrayal, and blind, deaf, and stoic compliance, and Human-Apes who follow-the-herd-or-pack; I tell or write the truth; and I say what I mean and mean what I say

I fear nothing; least of all, death

If I must fear anything at all in life, then let me fear what I think and know of myself; because, in the end, one’s knowledge and opinion of oneself is what counts most. All the world may think and believe one is such and such, but one knows one is such and such. Also, I like to look in the mirror and like what I see and know about me.

I invite comments, remarks, criticisms, and even insults – so long as they are straight to the point, in order for me to correct or adjust myself accordingly. What I do not welcome and won’t accept or tolerate is HORSE-SHIT!

Dear readers and felow-Apes; with every page, every report or article, every paragraph, every sentence, every word, and every letter; I thank you for taking the trouble and the time to read My Not-So-Humble Comments.

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339: INTER-FAITH CONFERENCE IN MADRID II – What He Said, You Said, We Said, They Said, and I Say. Now, Use Your Brain, (If) You’ve Got One

03 August, 2008

INTER-FAITH CONFERENCE IN MADRID II – What He Said, You Said, We Said, They Said, and I Say. Now, Use Your Brain, (If) You’ve Got One

They were not there to defile, or defame, or pollute, or dilute, or diminish, or convert, or combine, or remove, or replace any religion or religions; they were there to get to know each other and what each Religion preaches and teaches; and to deny hostility and bigotry, confrontation and conflict; and to demand concord, co–operation, and collaboration

Hostility: hatred, enmity, antagonism, blind and deaf opposition to someone or something

Bigotry: prejudice, racism, intolerance, bias, narrow-mindedness, and chauvinism – holier than thou: my God is true, your God is false; my Religion is good, your Religion is bad; or the childish Horse-shit of: my God can lick your God.

Daniel: There is only One God, whom the Moslems call Allah, whom the Hindus call Dharma, whom the natives in Ghana – where I was born – call Onyame, Nyongmo, and Mawu, and whom all the other religions call whatever they call, and whom the Christians have managed to divide into three equal parts. Also, there is only One Religion, but there are several interpretations or misinterpretations of it – stand by for my next posting on this series.

Gleaned and condensed from Various Press Coverage via Yahoo! Alerts

The Inter-Faith Conference in Madrid, which ended on 18^th July 2008, emphasized the need for dialogue among religions and cultures in order to strengthen world peace and stability, and that religion is expressed in a spirit of moderation and tolerance.

250 delegates representing Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and other religions from across the world attended the Conference. Among them were Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran – Public Relations Officer and spokesman for dialogues between the Vatican and Moslems. Daniel: I wonder why only between the Vatican and Moslems and not between the Vatican and all Religions! This is the sort of Horse-shit that creates isolation and the feeling of being ignored – un-acknowledged, unaccepted – that lead to anger and frustration, and the determination to assert.

The Madrid Conference was an unprecedented event that required great courage and foresight; King Abdullah first announced his plan to hold an inter-faith meeting when he met delegates attending an inter-cultural conference between Japan and the Moslem world last March in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. He then presented the idea to Pope Benedict XVI during their meeting at the Vatican in November 2007.

The conference took place against a backdrop of growing tensions between the Islamic world and the West. Several issues, including restrictions on the use of headscarves by Moslem women in some European countries and the publication of blasphemous cartoons against Islam by some Western newspapers had fueled the tensions – read my postings: 54 / 72 / 85 / 116 / 120 / 196 / 220 / 250 / 322 /

On behalf of the Inter-Action Council, which brings former prime ministers and heads of states together, the former Swedish Premier said that politicians should take religion into account in their deliberations and decisions, since religion could be a force for peace and that religious misunderstandings had led and could still lead to serious conflicts.

The Secretary-General of the Tehran-based World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought presented a paper on the role and significance of religion in combating crime, drugs, and corruption; and Iran's strategy on dialogue among people of various civilizations, cultures, and religions.

According to the Saudi ambassador to Madrid, Spain was chosen for the conference because it is a natural place for this type of dialogue, since the three major religions have co-existed in harmony in Spain for centuries and religious tolerance characterized Spain when it was partly under Moslem rule for eight centuries until 1492. The Moslem World-League Secretary-General told the Spanish daily El Mundo that the image and memory of al-Andalus prompted them to hold the conference in Spain.

However, the staging of the conference in Spain, rather than in Saudi Arabia, provoked some debates in Spanish political and media circles. The newspaper El Pais interpreted the choice of Madrid as an attempt to avoid a real debate in the Saudi Kingdom where no one is able to practise any other religion – non-Moslems and Shiite Moslems.

There was also controversy: the invitation of an anti-Zionist rabbi, who had denounced Zionism as an evil ideology having nothing to do with Judaism, was revoked. Daniel: I wonder how much he was paid to do that.

Some critics also claimed that the real goal of the conference was to improve Saudi Arabia's image in the West, where the media frequently link the Kingdom with violence and terrorism. During the last six months, Saudi security forces have arrested 701 militants for allegedly plotting to carry out terrorist attacks on oil facilities and other vital installations across the country.

One of the resolutions adopted at the conference was the rejection of terrorism and violence and that these were universal phenomena that demand a unified coordinated international effort to combat them by any and all ways and means possible; and an international agreement on defining terrorism, addressing its root causes, and achieving justice and stability in the world. The conference rejected theories that call for the clash of civilizations, cultures, and religions, and warned against the danger of campaigns launched by some elements and circles that sought to deepen conflicts and destabilize peace and security, only to serve their own purposes, aims, and goals.

Another resolution demanded respect for religions, condemned any insults to their sacred values, and called on governments to ban blasphemous acts and speeches.

The conference also re-affirmed that the family is the basic unit and nucleus of society and that protecting it from disintegration is the cornerstone for any secure and stable society. The preservation of the environment and its protection from pollution and other hazards was another key issue.

A Saudi Foreign Ministry official said he hoped the United Nations Security Council and other UN agencies would adopt the principles agreed upon at the conference as guidelines for promoting world peace and preventing sectarian attacks and discrimination

The former speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives also called for an Inter-Faith Dialogue Council to be set up as a formal UN body.

What I, Daniel in The Lion’s Den, say is: If this historic encounter of the first of its kind is to succeed, they all must look to, and into, the things that unite them, and which are their profound faith in One God, the noble principles and elevated ethics that are the foundations of all religions, and that world conflicts and woes like terrorism, violence, racism, crime, drug abuse, and the breakdown of families, and the disruption of social fabrics, are the consequences of the spiritual void or confusion that some elements create in order to serve their own separate purposes and achieve their own personal aims and goals, which have nothing whatsoever to do with Islam or any other religion.

The symbolic and inspiring sight of a bare-chested Hindu priest in orange silk pants embracing a man in a suit and yarmulke, and a Saudi official in flowing robes and a kaffiyeh shaking hands warmly with a Vatican cardinal wearing the crimson sash and cap was heartwarming and encouraging indeed. The conference was a baby uttering its first sounds and taking its first steps. On the one hand, it was the most ordinary event in the world, and on the other hand, it was the most important, fascinating, and almost incredible. What matters most now is whether the baby will be well-raised, well-taught, and well-nourished; or whether it will be deserted and neglected, or abandoned at the door of an orphanage, or dumped in a dustbin, or thrown to the wolves, or left to fend for itself – begging in the streets and exposed to the elements and the predators.

Posted by akill 17:14 | General | Comment(3) | Permalink

Comments

Salam,
Just came across your blog,and wanted to thank you for writing such a wonderful,inspiring post.This is certainly, in my opinion,a historical event that will serve as a platform to unite individuals from all religions,ethnicities and backgrounds in one harmonious circle.Shukran jazeelan.

Angela | 29/08/2008, 03:05 [ Reply ]

Well; Shukran jazeelan to you, too, Angela.
The Baby of acknowledgement, acceptance, and understanding, which lead to concord, co-operation, collaboration, and co-ordination, was born on that day at that memorable event. We now wait to see whether they are going to treat it and bring it up well, or just let and leave it alone to fend for itself – which is impossible.
Babies need constant care and attention – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Again, shukran jazeelan, wa ahlan wa sahlan, Angela.
Daniel
From The Lion's Den

Daniel in The Lion's Den | 29/08/2008, 04:17 [ Reply ]