ONE WORLD RELIGION WATCH: Interreligious dialogue, the steps of the Holy See
What is the KAICIID? The name is for King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue. It is a center for interreligious dialogue, based in Vienna. It has three founding states: Saudi Arabia - which makes a contribution of 15 million a year - Austria and Spain. The Holy See, on the other hand, plays the role of permanent founder and observer. A role of guarantee, strengthened by the presence of Bishop Miguel Ayuso Guixot, Undersecretary of the Diocese, at the board of the institution.
This is essentially the only diplomatic relationship that the Holy See has with Saudi Arabia, which is in the few of the few states in the world who have no official diplomatic relations with the Vatican. The visit of Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran, on April 7th, is part of this framework.
The high-level meeting took place between Cardinal and Secretary General of KAICIID, Faisal Bin Muammar, who informed the Center's activities. The dialogue focused in particular on past, current and future collaboration of the Holy See at the Center.
Among the activities of KAICIID, the programs to support inter-religious dialogue platforms in the Central African Republic, Iraq / Syria, Myanmar and Asia, those of the "United Against Violence in the Name of Religion" and the Social Media Initiative as Space For dialogue "as well as the KAICIID study program, which aims to train young religious leaders to counteract hatred in social media and support peaceful reconciliation.
There will be other planned meetings, and a closer engagement between the parties. How is it, it's all to see. Since its establishment in 2012, there have been many debates about the center. It has been wondered whether Saudi Arabia could promote dialogue, since there is no religious freedom and there is a risk of stopping even if you are surprised at your own home to practice your religion and where churches can not be built. And the controversy has been moved in Austria by the Green Party, who noted that the Saudi kingdom promotes the center and at the same time finances many mosques in Europe where Wahhabism is preached, Islam is more conservative than in Saudi Arabia is religion Of state. Critics are all aware of. But giving the center the name of the king of Saudi Arabia was also understood as a wish and commitment, a way of showing that something in the heart of Islam has moved.
The Holy See also looks closely at Saudi Arabia, carrying on a dialogue that has developed parallel to the Jordanian initiative of the letter A common word between us and you , which led to the establishment of an Islamic-Christian table. Thus, after Abdullah's meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on November 6, 2007, the Saudi King opened King Juan Carlos of Spain with a great conference on interreligious and multicultural dialogue, convened by the World Muslim League. On that occasion, Cardinal Jean Luis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, had announced a document of the diaspora led by him dedicated to interreligious dialogue.
Cardinal Tauran was also present at the inauguration of KAICIID on November 26, 2012, attended by UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I.
And finally, it is noteworthy, the country has continued a cautious reform process. And then, politics has nothing to do with the center, an international body structured with a Board of Directors , a body that includes high-level personalities of the major religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, and where it sits Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
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