Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques receives Al-Janadriya International Book Fair guests; says kingdom in service of Islam, Arabs, humanity

King Abdullah to Shoura Council, ulema:

I ask for advice; work sincerely in service of religion; fear Allah

Saudi monarch says cultural dialogue symposium in France is fruit of civilizations & religions conference in Madrid, New York

Saudi speech at 10th session of human rights council

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz received guests of the National Guard who are attending the current National Festival for Heritage and Culture.

The king also received guests of Riyadh International Book Fair.

A speech on behalf of the guests of the festival was delivered by Asaad Hamroosh from Lebanon who thanked the king for the hospitality.

Then, a poem on the occasion was delivered by the Saudi poet Salih Ala'mri.

Then, the king delivered a speech in which he welcomed the guests in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which he said serves Islam, Arabs and humanity and wished the guests success.

Then, the king received a symbolic gift from the intellectuals on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the start of the festival. Afterwards, all had lunch with the king.

The audience was attended by a number of princes and senior officials.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received at his office at the Royal Court at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chairman of the Commission of Senior Ulema and the Department of Religious Research and Ifta Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Al-sheikh; Head of the Supreme Judiciary Council Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid; members of the Commission of Senior Ulema; members of the Supreme Judiciary Council; the Chief Judge and members of his court; Chief of Supreme Administrative Council at the Court of Grievance; and heads of appeal courts who were recently appointed to their new posts.

At the outset of the reception, the audience listened to recitation of verses from the Holy Quran with their interpretations.

Addressing the audience, the King delivered the following speech:

"In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

My brethrens Ulema [Muslim scholars] I greet you with the greeting of Islam.

My brethrens, thanks to God, you are in the position desired by the Almighty Allah to serve Islam, humanity, and Islamic Arab morals.

I wish you success. I would like to remind you that your great position is appreciated by the people of Saudi Arabia who ask you to be up to their wishes.

Brothers,

I advise you and myself to fear God above all; to serve your religion; to never hesitate to do the right thing, for righteousness, fairness, and justice are superior to every thing; I wish you always exert your utmost effort with full capacity; shun desires and the devil as these two invite nothing but evil deeds.

There is nothing more I would like to say than reminding you to fear God; to call and work for conciliation; to propagate the good and forbid evil as long as you can; to act according to the ordinance of God, first and foremost; and to serve religion and homeland.

May God guide you to His gratification and edicts. May Peace be upon you".

Then the Grand Mufti thanked the monarch for his advice, vowing to take it into sincere consideration.

Commenting on the Grand Mufti's remarks, the monarch pointed out to the outrageous acts perpetrated by some Saudi citizens against Islam, saying that we totally depend on God to protect us against these devilish acts against Islam.

However, I pray to God to guide them to the right path. Islam is right and those tarnished the image of Islam. Thanks for God that people these days started to recognize Islam as true and Muslims as pure-hearted.

You are dedicated to your job to guide people to the right path. I bring you the good news that Islam is gaining ground day by day with the will of God and then by the righteous sons of Islam".

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah swore in the new Shoura Council chairman and members and urged them to work sincerely in the service of their country and religion.

“I wish you every success in your new position and request you not to be miserly in advising me,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the king as telling the officials during a ceremony at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.

King Abdullah later received the new Shoura Chairman Abdullah Al-Asheikh and the new members including academics, economists and businessmen.

The ceremony was also attended by Prince Muqrin, chief of intelligence; Saleh Bin-Humaid, former Shoura chairman and current head of the Supreme Judiciary Council; Saud Al-Muthami, state minister for Shoura affairs; and other top officials

. King Abdullah reshuffled his Cabinet and the Shoura Council last month in a bid to speed up political, social and economic reforms in the Kingdom. He changed the ministers of education, information, health and justice, and for the first time appointed a woman deputy minister.

It has a four-year term. Al-Asheikh recently inspected arrangements at the consultative council to welcome the king.

In his keynote address, King Abdullah will elucidate the Kingdom’s domestic and foreign policies and speak about his economic, social and political reform plans, sources said.

Shoura members and other government officials emphasized the significance of the king’s annual address to the Shoura, saying it would serve as a guideline for the Kingdom’s decision-makers.

Most of the new Shoura members hold doctorate degrees from American and British universities in different subjects, including management, engineering, education, political science and law.

Abdullah Alderais, former undersecretary at the Health Ministry for laboratories and blood banks; Mansour Abalkhail, former head of government accounts department at Riyadh Bank; and Abdullah Al-Fayez, a former undersecretary at the governorates of Makkah and Madinah, are among the new members.

Other prominent members are Saleh Al-Shoaibi, who holds a doctorate degree from Pittsburg University; Saeed Al-Malees, who obtained a doctorate in curriculum from the University of Indiana; Abdul Wahab Al-Mujthel, a prominent businessman; Khalifa Al-Dossari, chairman of the Saudi-Bahraini Business Council; Ali Al-Takhees, who holds a doctorate in hydrology and water resource management from University of Colorado; Maj. Gen. Mohammed Abusak, who obtained a doctorate from the US Army War College; and Ahmed Al-Zailae, who holds a doctorate in Islamic antiquities from the University of Durham.

Custodian of the Two Holy mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud maintained in his speech before the Third Regional Arab Conference for Child Protection that Saudi Arabia is extremely interested in all child care programs, projects and systems. Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz, President of Arab Gulf program for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND), opened the conference in Riyadh.

The monarch pointed out that Saudi Arabia is a pioneer country in ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In the monarch's speech, delivered on his behalf by Minister of Health Dr Abdullah Al Rabeia, the king said that that development plans focused on the programs of the protection of and care for children. The King also lauded the family safety program and the other programs dealing with the concerns of children all over the world.

Meanwhile, Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz, considered patronization of the monarch of this conference as momentum and incentive to reach positive results in child protection.

Prince Talal found growth and spread of child abuse as a strange phenomenon despite signing by the Arab countries of the Arab and international conventions of child rights.

During the opening ceremony, Princess Sita bint Abdulaziz, Chairperson of the National Family Safety Program, considered convening the Third Regional Arab Conference for Child Protection under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, as a fatherly overwhelming care by the monarch.

In the statement of Princess Sita bint Abdulaziz, delivered on her behalf by Dr. Maha Al-Muneef, the Executive Manager of Family Safety Program, Princess Sita reviewed methods of countering domestic violence and child abuse through enlightenment, orientation, promoting partnership and solidarity on the official and public levels, and finding programs and solutions for alleviating suffering and caring for the afflicted.

Also during the opening ceremony of the conference, the National Campaign for Countering Violence against Children was launched.

A group of children presented gifts to the king. The gifts were received by Executive Director General of Health Affairs at the National Guard and chairman of the conference's steering committee Dr. Bandar Al Qinawi. Similar gifts were also presented to Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz, Princess Sita, Minister of Education Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Mohamed Al Saud, Princess Adela bint Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Chairperson of the Family Safety Program, Dr. Yusuf Al-Othaimin, the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdulaziz Khojah, the Minister of Culture and Information, and Dr. Al Qinawi.

The Minister of Health also opened the accompanying drawings' exhibition.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud graced the opening ceremony of the 24th National Festival for Heritage and Culture organized annually by the National Guard in Al-Janadriya.

Upon Arrival at the festival's venue in Al-Janadriya, the king was received by Prince General Miteb Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard for Military Affairs and Vice Chairman of the Festival’s Supreme Committee.

Princes, Undersecretaries of the National Guard and members of the Festival Organizing Supreme Committee shook hands with the King.

Then, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, and Saudi Arabia's guests.

Afterwards, the national royal anthem was played.

The monarch and his guests took their seats at the main festival stand, verses from the Holy Quran were recited, and the first round of the grand camel race consecutively took place.

After the end of the first found of the race, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques handed prizes to the winners.

Then, the king and the guests of the king performed maghreb prayers.

Afterwards, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the king of Bahrain graced the dinner held on this occasion.

Then the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud attended a speech ceremony held to mark the festival.

The event was kicked off by a key address delivered by Prince General Mit'eb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard and Deputy Chairman of the festival's Supreme Organizing Committee.

In his speech, Prince Mit'eb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz welcomed the King and his guests.

He considered the festival a pillar of the country's renaissance, attributing the festival's 25-year-old march to the instructions of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud; Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, and Prince Badr bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Commander of the National Guard and Chairman of the festival's Supreme Organizing Committee.

He said Al-Janadriya has turned to be a symbol for the unity of this country the pillars of which were erected by late King Abdulaziz bin Abdurrahman.

Prince Mite'b bin Abdullah confirmed that the festival has achieved its role in preserving the identity of this country amid changing international winds because it was based on values and principles emanating from our religion and other pillars.

He cited the call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for rapprochement, tolerance and co-existence of different peoples, civilizations and cultures which resulted in convoking Makkah, Madrid and New York conference calling for dialogue among followers of religions and those who belong to different civilizations.

In the aftermath of Gaza recent bloody events, the Arab nation was on the verge of severe difference which was mainly wrapped up during Kuwait Economic Summit, thanks to the call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for reconciliation and ignorance of the past as well as his generous donation for the Palestinian people, Prince Mit'eb said.

He added that the participation of brothers from the Arab Gulf region, Arab and Islamic countries and other parts of the world has turned Al-Janadriya village to an open home for thought, culture and science and a platform for innovation and enjoyment.

He announced that Russia is the festival's this year guest of honor following Turkey.

Under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the winners of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques International Award for Translation were announced at King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, advisor to the King and member of the library's board of directors, delivered a speech in which he stressed the continuous support for the award. Prince Abdulaziz added that this "exemplifies a clear sign of the Kingdom's interest in nurturing creativity" describing the award as a cognitive and cultural bridge where the innovations of individuals and institutions in all areas can be easily conveyed.

Prince Abdulaziz also emphasized the need for an overall Arab perspective on translation through which cultural and scientific contributions can be brought to Arabic. He also called for investing in translation making full use of the popular and formal interest it has generated over the years.

Afterwards, a speech was given by Deputy Minister of Education Faisal bin Abdulrahman bin Moammar in which he thanked the King for his endless support for culture and intellectuals. He also stressed the King's keenness to raise public awareness and dialog citing his historic call for inter-faith dialog in Madrid.

Then, the award-winning translators, in the five areas covered by the award, were announced. The winners are as follows:

Dr. Chiwi Yong Kil for his translation of "Prophet Mohammed" into Korean.

Dr. Mohammed Al Misawi for his translation of "Islamic Sharia's Goals" into English.

Dr. Faiz Al Sayyagh (Economics).

Dr. Bandar Nasser Al Otaibi (Special needs education).

Dr. Haniyyah Mirza (Special needs education).

Dr. Hatem Al Najdi (Natural sciences).

Dr. Salma Al Khadhra (Literature)

Dr. Handrish Hartmut.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz valued the effective participation by Saudi and French academics and researchers in "The Saudi-French Symposium on Civilization Dialogue," efforts by them to make the symposium successful and the proposals and recommendations they will make.

In a speech delivered on his behalf by Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid Ala'anqari at the opening of the king-sponsored symposium, the king prayed to the Almighty Allah that the dialogue will help replace conflicts and wars among nations with understanding and peace.

The king considered the symposium as one of the fruits of the Conference on Dialogue among the Followers of the Religions and Cultures which was held in Madrid in July 2008 and the following Forum on Religion Dialogue in New York in November 2008.

The king said, "Based on the eternal principles of Islam which urge justice, equality and peace and call for building, friendship and fraternity among people, I welcome you in this blessed symposium which deals with an important issue to establish contacts among peoples and transform feelings of hatred among them into affection and understanding. The issue is civilization dialogue among Saudi and French academics and researchers."

The king added, "As the call for holding the conference on dialogue among religions and cultures was a clear message for all peoples of the world that Islam is a religion of affection, fraternity and peace, making it enjoy all support and encouragement because dialogue has become a clear and inevitable way to serve humanity in view of a new world order that made all countries and peoples of the world as one global village, peace must prevail among them to replace violence, affection must prevail to replace hatred and contempt and dialogue and understanding must prevail to replace boycott and conflict."

The king said, "We all hope that contacts among Saudi and French academics and researchers will continue with emphasis on the rights of the human who is proud of his religion and beliefs, achievement of maximum constructive, positive results for knowledge contacts and showing the true image of Islam's tolerance, moderation and the suitability of its rules for solving the problems of humans and achievement of peace and tranquility for them."

The king said he will support the participants to achieve the desired goals and thanked them for the blessed efforts achieving integration and sympathy among humans and aiming at boosting affection and solidarity among peoples.

The symposium was organized by King Saud University (KSU) in cooperation with the Faculty of Law, the Paris-based University of Descartes; Observatory of Geo-Political Studies in France; Saudi Embassy in France and The Saudi Cultural Department in Paris.

The First Saudi-French seminar on "Civilizations Dialogue," organized by King Saud University in cooperation with the Saudi Cultural Office in Paris under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, concluded its three-day deliberations at King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Saeed Al-Saeed, the Dean of the Faculty of tourism and antiquities and the seminar’s general supervisor, said the participants of the seminar had reiterated the importance of enhancing common factors between the Arab and French civilizations as well as establishing strong relations based on fraternity and mutual respect.

Dr al-Saeed said the recommendations of the seminar have underscored the importance of preparation of a suitable environment for dialogue and cooperation.

The seminar also called for confronting the phenomenon of fanaticism in all its forms and urged the research centers at the universities to conduct studies and researches that deepen the common human values as well as the culture of dialogue and tolerance as well as facilitate the participation of the Saudi and French academicians in activation of dialogue and its means.

For implementing the recommendations, the participants of the seminar called for exchange of visits by the students and academicians, enhancing translation between Arabic and French and extending support to the learning of French at the Saudi universities and Arabic at the French universities.

A similar seminar will be organized in France next year with the participation of academicians from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France.

The participants of the seminar expressed appreciation for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz who has been advocating dialogue among civilizations.

They also thanked French President Nicolas Sarkozy and all those who have contributed to make the seminar successful.

Meanwhile, Saudi ambassador to France Mohammed bin Ismail Al Alsheikh said the seminar is a fruit of the initiative of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to spread culture of dialogue among followers of the religions and civilizations as well as the culture of dialogue and tolerance.

He noted that the significance of the seminar stems from the fact that the Kingdom - the heart of the Muslim world, and France - the heart of Europe, have participated in the seminar in addition to a gathering of a number of researchers and thinkers.

The seminar was attended by a number of officials, researchers and thinkers as well as Saudi and French diplomats.

The Human Rights Council continued its 10th session held in Geneva. The Saudi delegation to the session was led by Dr. Bandar bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, the Chairman of Human Rights Commission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The session was attended by heads of delegations of participating States.

The Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Geneva Dr. Abdulwahab Attar delivered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's speech at the 10th session of the Human Rights Council.

Dr. Attar stressed that the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the comprehensive report prepared by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food and international efforts to protect the right to food for all.

Dr. Attar expressed the support given by the Kingdom's delegation to the efforts of the Special Rapporteur in this regard. He also expressed the willingness of the Kingdom's delegation to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur for the success of his mission.

The Saudi government believes in the importance of intensifying international efforts to eliminate the problems relating to food in all countries of the world, especially in least developed countries, Dr. Attar said.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided the developing countries and international organizations working in humanitarian fields with financial and in-kind assistance amounting to more than $ 24 billion, Dr. Attar added.

Dr. Attar also said that in 2008, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia donated $ 500 million for United Nations World Food Program in response to the appeal by the UN Secretary General to resolve the global food crisis.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia contributed to the replenishment of the resources of the International Fund for Agricultural Development by $ 50 million, Dr. Attar said.

He added that the Kingdom's delegation is looking forward to positive results of this session, particularly with regard to the right to food.