Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 4 ] — INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE FOR PEACE — ur Lord, may peace be upon our Prophet and his companions. Your Excellencies, Your Eminences, KAICIID Secretary General and Distinguished Assembly — may the peace of God be upon you. It is my pleasure to participate in this gathering in its second session, entitled Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship. I would like to seize the opportunity to congratulate the Secretary General and the KAICIID board on the fifth anniversary of the estab- lishment of this important organization. Since then we have witnessed huge efforts through ses- sions, seminars and workshops, engaging more than 20 countries worldwide. These efforts reflect the high commit- ment of each of the Member States and religious leaders, to the success of this Centre. I would like to congratulate KAICIID for having obtained the 2018 Africa Peace Prize for its promotion of the role of interreligious dialogue. Ladies and gentlemen, from the land of peace, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the initiative of interreli- gious dialogue was launched ten years ago, it is my honour to convey the best regards of my king and the crown prince, who work very hard to establish peace and stability and to promote old values of tolerance and brotherhood worldwide. We are here today to celebrate all of the divine messages of all religions. The misuse of religion to justify any crime or violent act committed in its name is a huge mistake. We affirm that all divine texts unanimously condemn all violent acts committed in the name of religion. Today’s meeting is a quantum leap toward facing this very serious and critical situation worldwide. That is why we call upon this meeting to adopt all recommendations that promote common citi- zenship and peace, by condemning all violence committed in the name of religion. I am sure that all of you here today are able to find the best solutions for eradicating this problem. Distinguished assem- bly, I am sure you are aware of the threats being spread by the dissemination of extremist ideas and thoughts, which are based upon intolerance and fanaticism. As you know, these O HE Nizar Madani HE Nizar Madani State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Born in Medina, HE Nizar Madani joined the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1965. In 1987, the Council of Ministers appointed him to the post of Ambassador. In 1993, he was appointed as a member of the Shura Council where he headed the Foreign Affairs Committee. He has served as the State Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2005 and his delegation has represented at meetings with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the League of Arab States, as well as with the United Nations General Assembly. United Against Violence in the Name of Religion, as well as with the joint high level Religious Leaders’ Platform, which will be launched here today. Moreover, it is of major interest to policymakers that they understand the role of religions and value systems in interna- tional politics. Therefore, Austria in preparation for the EU presidency later this year, has initiated an informal exchange process among theEU28onvalue systems anddiplomacy in the so-calledVienna group. Dialogue needs knowledge and educa- tion, which is also true for policymakers and representatives of religious communities. Therefore, the focus on education and social media as a space for dialogue in this second high level meeting is a meaningful way forward to improve the efforts and the outcome of the work conducted since 2014. This conference will certainly produce further important policies in this regard. I wish all of us inspirational discus- sions and encounters during these two days, and that we may contribute to building bridges for a peaceful future. I invite all those who have come especially to Vienna for this conference to enjoy our beautiful city.