Unity Key to Correcting Distorted Image of Muslims: Prince Khaled
Ibtisam Shegdar, Arab News



A group of pilgrims leaves the Aziziya area of Makkah for the tent city of Mina, where most of the Haj activities take place. (AN photo by Adnan Mahdali)

MAKKAH, 17 December 2007 — Muslim unity is essential for the Ummah’s integration with the new world order, said Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal while opening the eighth Makkah Conference organized by the Muslim World League (MWL) here on Saturday.

“Unity is essential to show practically that Islam is valid for all places and all times until the Day of Judgment,” said Prince Khaled.

“It is only with unity that we will be able to rectify the image of Islam and Muslims, which has been distorted by the enemies of Islam who are very few in number. ... The situation demands greater agreement on the method of dealing with common issues that are affected by terrorist and extremist ideologies,” he added.

The prince noted that it was the Kingdom’s founder King Abdul Aziz who first made the call to hold conferences in Makkah during the Haj season to create Muslim solidarity.

Prince Khaled stressed that Muslims should agree on fundamental principles and deal with differences of opinion with a spirit of dialogue and mutual understanding.

“Our hopes rest with the Muslim World League as it is the greatest Muslim organization that calls for a middle path and urge the youth to preserve the serene Islamic thought and abandon extremism, which leads them to intellectual anarchy,” he said.

“The MWL addresses particularly the youth so that they are not caught in the extremist trap, which aims to strike at the very foundation of the community,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary-General of MWL Abdullah Abdul Mohsen Al-Turki stressed the need for a balanced approach avoiding superficiality and rashness while dealing with Muslim issues.

In his address the Kingdom’s Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah Al-Asheikh called on the participants of the conference to come with recommendations that benefit society.