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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 RIYADH 001090 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO NEA/ARP BMCGRATH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2018 
TAGS: ASEC CIA EU EUN KISL PGOV PHUM PREL PTER SA
UNFPA, UNGA 
SUBJECT: INTERFAITH DIALOGUE IN MADRID - AGENDA AND MUSLIM 
PARTICIPANTS 
 
REF: A. RIYADH 1035 
     ¶B. RIAYDH 1070 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Gfoeller for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.  The Muslim World League (MWL), under the 
auspices of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has 
organized a global interfaith dialogue in Madrid from July 
16-18 (Reftels).  This is a ground breaking event as the 
Saudis have organized an event that puts Christianity and 
Judaism on equal footing with Islam.  This conference is the 
follow-up to the June 4-6 Mecca Conference on Interfaith 
Dialogue which was solely for the Muslim faith.  The Madrid 
Conference is being chaired by both King Abdullah and King 
Juan Carlos of Spain.  Abdullah Al-Turki, Secretary General 
of the MWL, stated that leading personalities representing 
various monotheistic religions will participate in the 
three-day conference, which will discuss various topics 
including social amity, international cooperation, human 
rights and peaceful co-existence.  The four conference 
sessions are titled &Dialogue and Its Religious and 
Civilization Foundations,8 &Dialogue and Its Importance to 
Society,8 &Common Human Values in Areas of Dialogue,8 and 
&Evaluation and Promotion of Dialogue.8  There will be 
approximately fifteen Saudi participants, with two confirmed 
Shi,a from Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.  Press in Saudi 
Arabia has been quite positive regarding this event, although 
certain bloggers have condemned this multifaith gathering. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
FOUR PLANNED SESSIONS 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia 
along with King Juan Carlos of Spain, Spanish Prime Minister 
Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero and MWL Secretary-General 
Al-Turki will open the conference.  The first session, titled 
&Dialogue and Its Religious and Civilization Foundations,8 
will be chaired by Bawa Jain, Secretary General of the 
Millennium World Peace Summit.  Hussain Hamid Hassan of Dubai 
Islamic Bank will speak on &Dialogue in Islam,8 while 
Lebanese Minister of Culture Tariq Mitri, member of the World 
Council of Churches, will speak on &Dialogue in 
Christianity.8  Arthur Schneier of Appeal of Conscience 
Foundation in the United States and M.M. Verna, director of 
Interfaith Foundation in India, will address the session as 
well. 
 
¶3. (C) The second session, titled &Dialogue and Its 
Importance in Society,8 will be chaired by Saleh Bin-Humaid, 
President of the Saudi Shoura Council.  Nichiko Niwano, 
President of the Committee of World Parliament for Religion 
and Peace (based in Japan) will discuss &Dialogue and 
Interaction of Cultures and Civilizations.8  Professor 
Federico Major Zaragoza, President of the Cultural Foundation 
for Peace in Spain, will speak on &Dialogue and its Impact 
on Peaceful Coexistence.8  Abdulhadi Tazi, member of the 
Moroccan Academy, will discuss &Dialogue and Its Impact on 
International Relations.8  Redwan Al-Sayyed, Chairman of the 
International Institute for Islamic Studies in Lebanon, will 
speak on &Dialogue in the Face of Calls for the Clash of 
Civilizations and End of History.8 
 
¶4. (C) The third session, titled &Common Human Values in 
Areas of Dialogue,8 will be chaired by William F. Vendley, 
Secretary-General of the World Conference of Religions for 
Peace (based in the United States).  Nihad Awad, Executive 
 
RIYADH 00001090  002 OF 004 
 
 
Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); 
Muhammad Ali Taskheeri, Secretary General of the World Forum 
for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought in Iran; 
Shankaracharya Omkar Anand Saraswati of India; and Miguel 
Angel Ayuso Guixot, rector of the Pontifical Council for 
Inter-Religious Dialogue at the Vatican, will all present 
papers. 
 
¶5. (C) The fourth session, titled Evaluation and Promotion of 
Dialogue, will be chaired by Rabbi Coaudio Epelman, 
Secretary-General of the Jewish Congress in Latin America and 
the Caribbean.  Ezzuddin Mustafa of the UAE, Zue Cheng of the 
Buddhist Association of China, Econos Haddad of Jordan's 
Center for Religious Coexistence, and Habil Luka Bibawi, 
member of Egypt's Shoura Council will all speak.  The final 
session will begin at 10:00 AM on Friday wherein the 
Assistant Secretary of the MWI, Abdul Rahman Al-Zaid, will 
read the concluding statement of the Conference. 
 
SHIA AND SUNNI PARTICIPANTS 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) The following is a list of notable Muslim conference 
participants: 
 
Shia Invitees: 
 
Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al-Taskhiri (IRAN) 
 Al-Taskhiri is the General Secretary of The World Forum for 
Proximity of Islamic School of Thoughts (also known as 
Secretary General of the International Assembly for 
Understanding between the Islamic Sects) 
 
Sheikh Dr. Jawad Al-Khalisi (IRAQ) 
 Al-Khalisi is the Secretary General of the Iraqi National 
Foundation Congress, an alliance of secular and religious 
organizations covering all religious and ethnic groups in 
Iraq. 
 
Sheikh Hasan Musa Al-Saffar (SAUDI ARABIA) 
 Al-Saffar is the leading Shi,a cleric in the Eastern 
Province of Saudi Arabia.  Dhahran's 7/10 cable (RIYADH 
01070) references Sheikh Hasan Musa Al-Saffar,s role in the 
Kingdom. 
 
Yahya Al-Quraish (SAUDI ARABIA) 
 Al-Quraish, also from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, 
is a Safwa-based civic organizer and businessman.  He and 
Al-Saffar are the only two representatives from the Eastern 
Province of Saudi Arabia.  Note that Al-Quraish is not an 
official participant but rather accompanying Sheikh Hasan 
Musa Al-Saffar. 
 
Sunni Invitees: 
 
Dr. Hamad Al-Majid 
 Dr. Al-Majid writes occasionally in Asharq Alawsat.  His 
writings are mostly political in nature.  He wrote about the 
US elections last February, and in June discussed religious 
tolerance and the recent Mecca conference. 
 
Dr. Salih Suliman Al-Wohaibi 
 Al-Wohaibi is the Secretary General of the World Assembly 
of Muslim Youth (WAMY). 
 
Dr. Saleh Ghanim Al-Sadlan 
 Al-Sadlan is a Sunni Muslim scholar who has his own Muslim 
charity organization and preaches in the former Queen,s 
 
RIYADH 00001090  003 OF 004 
 
 
mosque in Riyadh 
 
Abdullah Omar Naseef 
 Naseef is a former Secretary General of OIC 
 
Mohammed Jamil Al-Khayat 
 Al-Khayat is the Secretary General of the Supreme 
Commission for Coordination between Islamic Organizations, a 
subsidiary of the MWL. 
 
Sheikh Majed Al-Arafaj 
 Al-Arafaj is a Sunni sheikh. 
 
Salman Al-Ouda 
 Al-Ouda,s addition is a key development.  As someone who 
has been tied to extremism in the past his addition gives 
hope to the Conference impacting religious 
leaders/communities associated with extremism.  Note that 
Al-Ouda is not on the official list of participants but will 
be at the Conference nonetheless. 
 
Sheikh Abdulaziz Ibraheem Qasem 
 Qasem is the former judge in The Public Court in Riyadh 
 
Dr. Saleh Abdullah Bin Himeid 
 Himeid is the President of the Saudi Arabian Consultative 
Council 
 
Adel Ali A AlShaddy 
 Al-Shaddy is Professor of Higher Islamic Studies at the 
Imam Muhammed bin Saudi Islamic University 
 
Abdullah Ali M Al Maliki 
 Al-Maliki is board chairman of the Bureau of Cooperative 
Dawa, Guidance, and Education Communities in Abha. 
 
Dr. Abdallahi Ould Cheikh El-Mahfoudh Ould Boye 
 Ould Boye is a professor at King Abdul Aziz University in 
Jeddah. 
 
Dr. Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Sadan 
 
Ahmad S. A. Turkistani 
 
WELL-RECEIVED, SOME GRUMBLING 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) COMMENT.  This is a ground breaking event.  That the 
Saudis are bringing together Muslim, Christian and Jewish 
scholars, all on equal footing, for a dialogue to establish 
mutual understanding and religious tolerance is truly 
significant.  One of the King's main purposes in leading this 
event may be to stimulate the Saudi people to question their 
own attitudes toward non-Muslims.  This is a top down 
society.  Images of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, as 
the King is officially known in the Kingdom, meeting with 
religious leaders of other faiths in a western nation will 
inevitably strike many Saudis as both shocking and 
controversial.  This event is probably intended to send a 
strong symbolic message to the Saudi people, as well as to 
the Arab and Muslim world.  The choice of Spain as the venue, 
with its history of religious co-existence, is likely 
intended to reinforce this message. 
 
¶8. (C) Overall, this conference has gotten extremely positive 
reaction within the Kingdom.  However, current information 
suggests no member of the Council of Senior Ulema will 
participate in the Madrid conference.  It is possible that 
 
RIYADH 00001090  004 OF 004 
 
 
despite the good press that resulted from the June Mecca 
conference it was solely due to the fact that it was just for 
the Muslim faith.  The Ulema appear cold to the idea of such 
dialogue with other faiths and so are not eager to 
participate in such activities, at least for now.  So far, 
press reports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been highly 
positive, noting King Abdullah,s attempt to not only bring 
world faiths together but to take a leadership role in doing 
so.  It even includes calls for Abdullah to win the Nobel 
Peace Prize.  However, certain blogs have been cautious and 
somewhat negative to the idea of sitting down with other 
religious leaders.  Post-conference reports after this 
globally significant event will better determine the reaction 
within Saudi Arabia as well as of the rest of the Muslim 
world to King Abdllah's interfaith outreach effort.  END 
COMMENT. 
FRAKER