WORLD MUSLIM LEAGUE INTER-FAITH CONFERENCE HELD IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 MADRID 000799

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE, NEA/ARP, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2018
TAGS: KISL PHUM PREL UNFPA CIA SA SP
SUBJECT: WORLD MUSLIM LEAGUE INTER-FAITH CONFERENCE HELD IN
MADRID JULY 16-18

REF: A. (A) STATE 72693

B. (B) RIYADH 1090

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Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. The World Muslim League, under the
patronage of Saudi King Abdullah, held its Inter-faith
Conference in Madrid July 16-18. King Juan Carlos hosted the
inaugural ceremonies at the Pardo Palace. Although the guest
list could not be described as all-inclusive, there was a
range of participation including Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu and
Shinto. While the participant roster did not list any
Israeli attendees and news reports in advance of conference
questioned whether or not Israelis would be invited, at least
one guest who self-identified as Israeli received an
invitation. The original conference agenda did not include
any women as presenters or panelists and in response to
comments from the participants, organizers added a woman to
the final panel. U.S. participants who shared their
impressions expressed satisfaction with the event as a small
step in the right direction on the part of the World Muslim
League. Participants reportedly refrained from political
commentary, although several Muslim speakers did make
personal statements calling for action to ensure that
religion could not be defamed. The World Muslim League's
Madrid Declaration was not circulated for review by
participants during the conference, nor was the declaration
discussed or approved by the participants. It was read
during the closing session and only appeared in the press
room after the conference's conclusion. The Declaration
calls for working groups to be formed and more meetings to be
held, without any specific timetable. It does call for a
special UN session on dialogue as soon as possible. The
conference declaration says that the Conference on Dialogue
should send a delegation to the UN session on dialogue with
membership selected by the World Muslim League. The text of
the World Muslim League's Madrid Declaration follows in
paragraph 10. More details about the conference are
available at the website www.world-dialogue.org. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) The World Muslim League, under the patronage of
Saudi King Abdullah, held its Inter-faith Conference in
Madrid July 16-18. Spanish King Juan Carlos acted as a host
for the event. Initially, Spanish MFA officials informed the
Embassy the week of July 7 that the only Spanish government
involvement would be through the King's protocol staff
planning a small lunch at the Pardo Palace (Blair
House-equivalent) to honor King Abdullah. The Chief of Staff
to Deputy FM Lossada confirmed to Embassy that the conference
was a "purely Saudi" event. The Spanish King did extend all
courtesies to his counterpart and the conference opening
ceremonies were held at Pardo, attended by King Juan Carlos,
King Abdullah, and Secretary General of the World Muslim
League Abdullah in Abdul Mohsin al-Turki, along with guests
including President Zapatero, FM Moratinos, former British PM
Tony Blair, Saudi FM Saud al-Faisal, Prince Bandar bin
Sultan, Cardinal Tauran, Jesse Jackson and others. DCM
attended the conference opening and said that King Abdullah
received a standing ovation after his address focusing on
brotherhood and the common denominators that unite us all.
Based on the close personal rapport evident between the
Spanish and Saudi Kings during the event, Juan Carlos clearly
recognizes the importance of the Saudi bilateral relationship
and has forged strong ties with his counterpart. His
personal exhibit of tolerance extended to letting the Saudi
protocol and security details run roughshod over some of the
attendees. Given that King Juan Carlos runs his own show, he
bristled to see some of his guests brusquely handled by the
Saudi team in the Spanish palace. The event did not receive
much local coverage after King Juan Carlos' participation in
the inauguration, but Spanish public opinion celebrated the
event as an effort to strengthen peace, dialogue and
cooperation. The event also tied in with Spain's interest in
expanding its ties with Saudi Arabia, particularly when Saudi
oil revenues could help inject some needed cash to Spanish
construction and energy enterprises. The conference also fit
in Spain's plan to expand its diplomatic outreach to the
Middle East, including its stated intention to hold a major
Middle East conference during Spain's EU Presidency in 2010.

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CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS
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3. (U) Participants characterized the conference as
disorganized and the agenda, speakers and logistics shifted

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each day, with the Saudi Embassy in Madrid unable to share
any advance details. The organizers responded to comments
during the first two days in which participants noted that
there were no women speaking on any of the conference panels
and very few women were invited to attend. On the last day's
final panel, the organizers added a Spanish Muslim, Mekia
Nedjar, to address the audience on role of women in
inter-faith dialogue. Ms. Nedjar, who specializes in
intercultural mediation and translation services told Poloff
that she was asked to participate only the night before and
rather than giving a prepared address, as the other speakers,
simply shared her personal reflections. Participants said
they received between one day and two weeks advance notice of
the event so everyone had scrambled to adjust their schedules
and respond to the Saudi's invitation. U.S. participants
speculated they received their invitations based on previous
participation in other inter-faith conferences or through
contacts at the Saudi Embassy in Washington or business
contacts such as Abdullah Ali Reza. The guest list included
representatives of a wide variety of religious faiths,
including Sikh, Hindu, Buddist, and Shinto, but the level of
representation reflected the hasty organization of the
proceedings. The participants list did not indicate the
presence of agnostics or atheists. A final participants list
or contact information sheet was not distributed to
attendees. NGOs did not play a formal role in the
conference, although participants were affiliated with NGOs
in some cases. Alliance of Civilizations High Representative
Jorge Sampaio had a schedule conflict and sent a
representative to read a prepared statement on July 18.


4. (C) Author Robert Lacey, working on his new book,
"Inside The Kingdom" told Poloff he received his invitation
through connections with Saudi businessperson Khalid Ali
Reza. Lacey said he had watched extensive Saudi television
coverage of the event before he departed KSA for Madrid and
thought that the event was an important milestone for the
Saudi establishment, especially since he saw at least two
members of the Saudi Ulema and the head of the Majlis al-
Shura at the opening ceremony. Just getting members of the
Saudi religious establishment out of the Kingdom and exposed
to other points of view was a step forward in his opinion.
One U.S. participant described his experience, saying,
"Saudis have been approaching me at the dinner hour or in the
hotel elevator and asking to talk since they have never met a
Jew before." Another participant said that during the
receiving line at the inauguration, he introduced himself to
King Abdullah as a rabbi from Jerusalem, Israel and received
a warm and gracious welcome. Additionally, after the
introduction, the Saudi FM gave specific instructions to a
staff member for the Saudi news crew to interview the Israeli
rabbi. While the participant list did not cite any attendees
from Israel and news reports in advance of conference
questioned whether or not Israelis would be invited, at least
one guest who self-identified as Israeli was formally
invited.

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CONFERENCE PROGRAM
--------------


5. (U) After the inauguration and speeches by King
Abdullah, King Juan Carlos and Secretary General al-Turki,
the rest of the conference consisted of a series of panels in
which selected speakers delivered prepared remarks. A
moderator then called on individuals who submitted written
questions or comments to give brief remarks. Participants
from the U.S. and other western countries expressed
frustration at the rigid structure of the event, hoping that
a dialogue conference would include focus groups or
roundtable discussions that allowed more exchange of ideas.


6. (U) Instead, the conference organizers kept to the rigid
format and many attendees expressed their view that the most
productive discussions of the conference took place during
meals or during quick coffee breaks. Participants reportedly
refrained from political commentary. Several Muslim speakers
did make personal statements calling for action to ensure
that religion could not be defamed. Participants felt that
the most interesting exchange occurred the night of July 17
when Dr. Ezzedin Mustapha Ibrahim, listed as a cultural
affairs advisor in Abu Dhabi, delivered a paper on Islamic
Christian dialogue from the Islamic perspective.
Participants reported that Dr. Ibrahim deviated from his
prepared text and commented that it might not be possible to
have full dialogue between Muslims and Jews because so many
political issues like Jerusalem hampered the discussion.

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Reportedly, several audience members refuted Dr. Ibrahim's
remarks, pointing out their own successful interfaith efforts
that included Jews and Muslims, including in Muslim
countries. Several Jewish representatives had the
opportunity to present their views in response to Ibrahim's
remark and more broadly. Everyone said that the exchanges
were made in a respectful manner and set a better tone for
the third day's agenda. As one attendee commented, "up until
that point the presentations had been bland to the point of
meaningless and Thursday night they finally allowed the
elephant in the room and found it wouldn't squash anything."
The intervention of Dr. Mustafa Ceric, Mufti of Sarajevo, was
cited as particularly helpful, as he described for
participants the interfaith efforts in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Reportedly, he emphasized that hate was
shameful and that Muslims must understand that Jews have
rights and the Jewish positions must be recognized and
understood. U.S. participants who shared their impressions
with Poloff expressed satisfaction with the event as a small
step in the right direction on the part of the World Muslim
League and said that although some of them had questioned
whether or not to accept the invitation, it had been an
important opportunity to open up lines of communication, with
Muslims in particular, as well as an opportunity to counter
misinformation and express their point of view.

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CONFERENCE AGENDA
--------------


7. (U) There was a session on religious dialogue moderated
by Dr. Bawa Jain, Secretary General of the Millennium World
Peace Summit. Panelists included
Dialogue in Islam - Dr. Hussin Hamed Hassan - Islamic Bank of
Dubai
Dialogue in Christianity - Dr. Najeb Gabriel - Director,
Egyptian Human Rights Organization
Dialogue in Judaism - Rabbi Arthur Schneier, Appeal of
Conscience Foundation
Dialogue in Oriental Beliefs - Dr. M.M. Verma - President of
Int. Dialogue Association of India


8. (U) There were also sessions on:
Dialogue and its importance to Human Society moderated by Dr.
Saleh Ibn Abdullah Bin Hameed, President of the Saudi Majlis
al- Shura;
Common Human Patrimony in Dialogue moderated by Dr. William
Vendley, SecGen of Int. Religious Conference for Peace;
Evaluation and Promotion of Dialogue moderated by Rabbi
Claudio Epelman, Director of Jewish Congress of Latin
America, Caribbean, and Argentina; and
Promoting a Culture of Dialogue and Coexistence moderated by
Dr. Ahmed Talib al-Ibrahimi, former Algerian Foreign
Minister.
The closing session included presentations by the World
Muslim League and Jean-Luis Tauran, President of the
Pontifical Council of Inter-religious Dialogue. Finally,
World Muslim League Secretary General al-Turki read a
summation statement, that was later released in the press
briefing room as "The Madrid Declaration."

9. (C) The World Muslim League's Madrid Declaration,
however, was not circulated for review by participants during
the conference, nor was the declaration discussed or approved
by the participants. It was read during the closing session
and only appeared in the press room after the conference's
conclusion. The declaration is worded ambiguously so that it
is open to interpretation whether the recommendations are
coming from "the conference" organizers or participants. It
calls for working groups to be formed and more meetings to be
held, without any specific timetable. It does call for a
special UN session on dialogue as soon as possible. The
conference declaration says that the Conference on Dialogue
should send a delegation to the UN session with membership
selected by the World Muslim League.


10. (U) Text of Madrid Conference Declaration follows:

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TEXT OF MADRID CONFERENCE DECLARATION
--------------

The Madrid Declaration issued by The World Conference on
Dialogue Organized by the Muslim World League in Madrid,
Spain under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud 13 - 15 / 7 /
1429 A. H. Corresponding to 16 -18 /7/ 2008


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Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe, and may the peace and
blessings of God be upon all His prophets and messengers. In
response to the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz AI-Saud, the Muslim
World League organized the World Conference on Dialogue in
Madrid, Spain, during the period 13 to 15/ Rajab / 1429 A. H,
corresponding to 16 to 18/ July / 2008.

The participants in the conference; followers of the world
religions and cultures express their profound gratitude for
the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul
Aziz AI-Saud for his generous patronage and inauguration of
the conference and for his speech to the participants, which
they considered as a major document in the conference.

Furthermore, the participants extended their deep thanks and
appreciation for His Majesty Juan Carlos the 1st of Spain for
his comprehensive welcome speech and for H.E. Mr. Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero, the president of Spain for his
participation in the opening session and for his efforts in
the dialogue of civilizations. The participants also thanked
the Spanish Government for having the Conference in Spain.
This great country is home to an historical heritage that
belongs to the followers of different religions and has
contributed to human civilization.

The participants also recall the objectives of the UN
Charter, which calls for exerting collective efforts aiming
at the enhancement of international relations, the creation
of an exemplary human community and the promotion of dialogue
as a civilized way fQcooperation.

The participants further remind all people of the Declaration
of the UN General Assembly in 1994, which called for
tolerance and the spread of the culture of peace, and also
ask that they recall the declarations of 1995 as the Year of
Tolerance and 2001 as the Year of Dialogue Among
Civilizations.

The participants commend the Appeal of Makkah issued by the
World Islamic Conference on Dialogue, which was called for by
the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques and organized by the Muslim
World League earlier this year (2008). The participants build
on the agreement among the followers of religions and
prominent cultures regarding the value of dialogue as the
best way for mutual understanding and cooperation in human
relations as well as in peaceful coexistence among nations.

In light of the above, the participants affirm the following
principles:


1. Unity of humankind in the original creation and the
equality among human bein irrespective of their colors,
ethnic backgrounds and cultures.


2. Purity of the nature of humans; as they were created
liking good and disliking e inclining to justice and avoiding
injustice. Such pure nature leads humans to show mercy and to
seek certainty and belief.


3. Diversity of cultures and civilizations among people is
a sign of God and a call for human advancement and
prosperity.


4. The heavenly messages aim at realizing the obedience of
people to thQr Creator and achieving happiness, justice,
security and peace for humankind. These messages seek to
enhance ways of understanding and cooperation among people
despite differences in their origins, colors and languages.
They also call for spreading virtue through wisdom and
politeness, and rejecting extremism and terrorism.

5- Respecting heavenly religions, preserving their high
status, condemning any insult to their symbols, and combating
the exploitation of religion in the instigation of racial
discrimination.

6- Observing peace, honoring agreements and respecting unique
traditions of peoples and their right to security, freedom
and self-determination are the basis for building good
relations among all people. Achieving this is a major
objective of all religions and prominent cultures.

7 - The significance of religion and moral values and the
need for humans to revert to their Creator in their fight
against crime, corruption, drugs, and terrorism, and in
preserving the institution of the family and protecting

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societies from deviant behaviors.

8- The family is the basic unit of society and its nucleus.
Protecting it from disintegration is a cornerstone for any
secure and stable society.

9- Dialogue is one of the essentials of life. It is also one
of the Qst important means for knowing each other,
cooperation, exchange of interests and realizing the truth,
which contributes to the happiness of humankind.

10- The preservation of the environment and its protection
from pollution and other dangers are considered a major
objective of all religions and cultures.

Mindful of accomplishing the above principles through
dialogue, the conference has thoroughly reviewed the process
of dialogue and its obstacles, as well as the catastrophes
that afflicted humanity in the 20th Century. The Conference
noted that terrorism is one of the most serious obstacles
confronting dialogue and coexistence.

Terrorism is a universal phenomenon that requires unified
international efforts to combat it in a serious, responsible
and just way. This demands an international agreement on
defining terrorism, addressing its root causes and achieving
justice and stability in the world.

Based on the above, the conference has adopted the following
recommendations:

1- To reject theories that call for the clash of
civilizations and cultures and to warn of the danger of
campaigns seeking to deepen conflicts and destabilize peace
and security.

2- To enhance common human values, to cooperate in their
dissemination within societies and to solve the problems that
hinder their achievement.

3- To disseminate the culture of tolerance and understanding
through dialogue so as to be a framework for international
relations through holding conferences and symposia, as well
as developing relevant cultural, educational and media
programs.

4- To agree on international guidelines for dialogue among
the followers of religions and cultures through which moral
values and ethical principles, which are common denominators
among such followers, so as to strengthen stability and
achieve prosperity for all humans.

5- To work on urging governmental and non-governmental
organizations to issue a document that stipulates respect for
religions and their symbols, the prohibition of their
denigration and the repudiation of those who commit such
acts.

To fulfill these desired objectives of dialogue by this
conference, the participants have agreed on adopting the
following:


1. Forming a working team to study the problems hindering
dialogue and prevent it from realizing its desired results.
Its task is also to prepare a study that provides visions for
the solution of these problems and to coordinate among bodies
promoting world dialogue.


2. Cooperation among religious, cultural, educational, and
media establishments to deepen and consolidate ethical
values, to encourage noble social practices and to confront
sexual promiscuity, family disintegration and other vices.


3. Organizing inter-religious and inter-cultural meetings,
conducting research, executing media programs and using the
Internet and other media for the dissemination of a culture
of peace, understanding and coexistence.


4. Promoting the issue of dialogue among the followers of
religions, civilizations and cultures within youth, cultural,
educational, and media activities.


5. Calling upon the UN General Assembly to support the
results reached by this conference. It is strongly
recommended to make use of these recommendations in enhancing
dialogue among the followers of religions, civilizations and
cultures through conducting a special UN session on dialogue.

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The participants express their hope that the Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud will
use his good office with the concerned bodies in convening
this session as soon as possible. It will be the pleasure of
the members of this conference to take part in that session
through a representative delegation, members of which are to
be chosen by the Muslim World League.

In abiding with the agreed-upon principles and concepts, the
participants do emphasize that it is essential for this world
dialogue to be open and that its sessions be held
periodically.

The participants have extended their profound gratitude to
King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, the King of Saudi
Arabia for his kind initiation and invitation to this world
dialogue. They also expressed their appreciation for the
Muslim World League and other bodies that cooperated in
organizing this conference. They have applauded the continued
efforts made by the league in the fields of dialogue and
cooperation among nations and peoples, hoping that the common
objectives, for which humankind aspires, are accomplished.
Issued in Madrid, 15 Rajab 1429 A.H., 18 July 2008 5
Aguirre