News
In a shared recognition of the need to promote inter-religious dialogue in a world faced with conflicts often fuelled by religion, on 13 January the secretary general and officials from the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) offices in Geneva, Switzerland and met with the general secretary of the WCC, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.
Dr Faisal Bin Muaammar, secretary general of KAICIID and Ambassador Alvaro Albacete, special advisor to the secretary general, were present, accompanied by Dr Pierre Sigg and Ms Iris Jumbe.
After a lunch hosted by Tveit, the KAICIID secretary general introduced his organization to WCC staff members and representatives of ecumenical organizations present at a meeting which took place in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva. Dr Muaammar affirmed his wish to work together with the WCC on inter-religious dialogue initiatives.
“We don’t need dialogue among the elite in conference rooms only. We need to move towards implementation,” said Muaammar. “I can share my own experience where we have been able to spread the culture of dialogue involving players on the ground, working with mosques, with families and the media,” he added.
“Through my work I have seen and felt how the vast majority of human beings everywhere are against all the crimes perpetrated in the name of religion. Therefore I am a strong believer in dialogue and in building bridges,” Muaammar said.
KAICIID works to enable, empower and encourage dialogue among followers of different religions and cultures around the world. Located in Vienna, the Centre is an independent, autonomous, international organization, free of political or economic influence which was established in November 2012.
The Founding States of the Centre, namely the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Republic of Austria and Kingdom of Spain, constitute the “Council of Parties” responsible for overseeing the work of the Centre; the Holy See is admitted as a Founding Observer to the Centre.
Reflecting on the significance of the visit, Dr Clare Amos, WCC's programme executive for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, said, “It has been very good to be able to welcome the secretary general of KAICIID and his staff here at the Ecumenical Centre and to enable him to see for himself the considerable resources, interest and commitment we have here at the WCC and among our sister organizations. This commitment enables us to work on a wide variety of concerns, from a Christian perspective, but also taking into account the multi-religious nature of our world.”
Amos went on to say that the WCC staff has already begun to work with KAICIID in a number of areas of concern, particularly linked to the Middle East.
“I am hoping that this visit by Dr Muaammar and his colleagues will stimulate us to find further fruitful avenues of collaboration and partnership between ecumenical organizations and KAICIID to the benefit of our respective constituencies,” added Amos.
