Another Saudi-led meeting on "cultural and religious tolerance" that, interestingly, is not being held in Saudi Arabia. This one seeks an additional veneer of legitimacy under the United Nations banner, but only serves to further diminish any remaining shred of moral authority the U.N. itself has in this area. "Critics Say U.N. 'Culture of Peace' Meeting Hides Culture of Oppression," by Jennifer Lawinski for Fox News, November 6:
Critics are blasting the United Nations for hosting a meeting to talk about religious and cultural tolerance sponsored by Saudi Arabia, a country in which the U.S. government has said religious freedom is non-existent.
Following up on an interfaith meeting they held in Madrid in July, the Saudis asked the United Nations to hold a meeting on the "Culture of Peace," but some think it’s a move to lend support to the defamation of religions resolution that the world body will vote on this fall.
Would they be offended if someone in attendance regarded George Orwell as a prophet?
The U.N. General Assembly will host the Culture of Peace meeting initiated by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in New York on Nov. 12-13.
The White House announced on Wednesday that President Bush will attend the meeting on Nov. 13, and will also meet with King Abdullah while in New York.
"The President appreciates King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia's initiative in calling for this dialogue and remains committed to fostering interfaith harmony among all religions, both at home and abroad," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement.
Israeli President Shimon Peres will also attend the conference. Peres supports a Saudi-sponsored plan to make peace between Israel and the Arab world, but it is unclear if the two nations will discuss the plan while in New York, the Associated Press reported.
Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, the Philippines and Finland have also agreed to attend.
The Assembly President, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a Catholic priest, invited all member nations and observers, including the Vatican, to attend the meeting which it called a "useful prepatory step" towards an interfaith and intercultural meeting it will hold in 2010.
Enrique Yeves, Spokesman of the Presient of the General Assembly Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann said that the meeting will focus on more than religious dialogue — the topic of the Madrid meeting — and also touch on cultural issues.
"This is not a meeting on religious dialogue only it is about dialogue among cultures," Yeves said. "I don’t' know who has called it interfaith because its official name is Culture for Peace. For some reason most people, especially in the media, believe that it is only on religious dilalogue but it is further than that."
Critics say that Saudi Arabia's track record on religious tolerance and human rights shows that its dialogue initiative is just talk. The State Department has considered it a "country of particular concern" since 2004, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom considers religious freedom to be non-existent in the Arab kingdom.
"We'd like to see a conference like this take place inside Saudi Arabia and the fact that it isn't speaks volumes. That's true of the Madrid conference and true of the one at the U.N.," said commission chairwoman Felice Gaer.
The practice of religions other than Islam, and Wahhabi Islam in particular, in Saudi Arabia is forbidden, so religious leaders of other faiths could not go to Saudi Arabia, she said.
There are between two and three million non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Gaer said, and most are expatriate workers from foreign countries who "have to sign labor contracts requiring them essentially to waive their human rights to freedom of religion and to submit themselves to rather abusive treatment."
Churches are also forbidden in the country.
Saudi Arabia ranks second on the Open Doors 2008 World Watch List of countries that persecute Christians and the State Department has classified it a "country of particular concern" when it comes to violating the right to religious freedom....
But they're engaging in "dialogue!" So they must be taking concrete steps on the ground as well... right?
This one should be filed under the "so painfully obvious why hasn't everyone noticed?" category.
I agree. If we had those subject-tags we could file this under "Obvious."
But then again, imagine how massive the "Obvious" file would ultimately be -- so much of our daily work involves pointing out the Emperor's New Clothes.
Or rather, that the emperor is nekkid and the sky ain't plaid.
It should be held in Mecca. Somebody needs to tell President-elect Obama that he is forbidden from stepping foot in Mecca. We should do the same for the Saudi thug Abdullah and let him come to New York on the condition that the next one is in Mecca.
These things shouldn't be called dialogues.
They should be called saudi marketing presentations.
Are the Saudis smoking crack?
The dialogue could be very useful if it doesn't descend into multicultural gobbledygook.
Of course, that's a very big "if".
Retraction on the usefulness of the dialogue...I read this quote...
"We'd like to see a conference like this take place inside Saudi Arabia and the fact that it isn't speaks volumes. That's true of the Madrid conference and true of the one at the U.N.,"
...and thought it came from a conference participant.
My mistake.
on the open doors 2008 world watch list you will find most of the countries violating religious freedoms are Muslims...the few that are not are totalitarian dictatorships or ruled by the military. How high does your favorite Muslim country rate?...
January 2008:
1. North Korea
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Iran
4. Maldives
5. Bhutan
6. Yemen
7. Afghanistan
8. Laos
9. Uzbekistan
10. China
Eritrea
12. Somalia
13. Turkmenistan
14. Comoros
15. Pakistan
16. Qatar1
17. Vietnam
18. Chechnya
19. Egypt
21. Iraq
22. Azerbaijan
23. Libya
24. Mauritania
25. Burma (Myanmar)
26. Sudan (North)
27. Oman
28. Cuba
29. Brunei
30. India
31. Algeria
32. Nigeria (North)
33. Djibouti
34. Turkey
35. Kuwait
36. Sri Lanka
37. Tajikistan
38. United Arab Emirates
39. Jordan
40. Morocco
41. Belarus
42. Palestinian Territories
43. Ethiopia
44. Syria
45. Bahrain
46. Tunisia
47. Indonesia
48. Bangladesh
49. Kenya (Northeast)
50. Colombia (Conflict Areas)
Pulsar,
The only Muslim-majority nations not on the list that I could think of were Turkey, Albania , Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Niger, Mali & Bosnia.
Very, very telling.
The White House announced on Wednesday that President Bush will attend the meeting on Nov. 13, and will also meet with King Abdullah while in New York.
More kisses and hugs...ain't that sweet?
An older lady at my work gushed about a letter on religious tolerance from the Saudi king she had read at her Unitarian church. I naturally reacted with a laugh, and "You've got to be kidding?" She responded by not wanting to hear criticism of the Saudis that might "ruin" the experience for her.
I think she is indicative of certain segment of society who are fairly smart, but have an inability to digest world affairs logically. They become the appeasers, dupes and collaborators with evil simply because they have a mental handicap.
Circus of Deception: Part II
Why on earth would anyone consider this to be of any greater significance than any of the other myriad conferences supported by the UN General Assembly that produces nothing more than hot air? Although Bush apparently will attend it in deference to the Saudis and Jordan, as expected, it's nothing more than a PR stunt by the Saudis that will only generate headlines within the Muslim world. No one else will care or take any note of it, and if they do it will only be to laugh.
If Obama decides to attend, and uses the occasion for anything more than to reaffirm his support for Israel, then that's another matter.
Another facade of a charade.
Hiiiiii Hooooooooo
Hiiiiii Hooooooooo
Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to dhimmi we go
We can't be late for the Sultanate
Hi ho hi ho hi ho hi ho
My apologies to Walt.
I can't wait for the seminar about the plight of Hindu migrant workers who are executed by the Saudi Arabian government every year because they accidentally transverse the cities of Mecca or Medina.
Oh wait, you meant they are not going to have a seminar on that topic during the conference on "dialogue?" Who would have known?
The White House announced on Wednesday that President Bush will attend the meeting on Nov. 13, and will also meet with King Abdullah while in New York.
More kisses and hugs...ain't that sweet?
Posted by: duh_swami at November 8, 2008 7:49 PM
Quite! Saudis saved Bush's Arbusto and Harken Energy. In return, Bush took care of Saudi enemy # 1: Saddam. Never mind if billions of American tax-dollars, thousands of American lives were wasted:
http://www.daily.pk/world/americas/7893-george-w-bush-guilty-of-first-degree-murder.html
Yep, cho chveet!
The Saudi king's dialogue initiative is yet another attempt (see March 28 UN Human Rights Council resolution circumscribing "freedom of expression" to prevent criticism of Islam) by Islamic leaders to pacify, disarm and neutralize the leaders of the world's other religions, and to make criticism of Islam taboo. It reeks of hypocrisy.