The Opening Ceremony of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Interreligious Intercultural Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) held in Vienna
Dr. Mozammel Haque
VIENNA:
I came to Vienna, the capital of Austria, on Sunday, the 25th of
November, 2012, to attend
the inauguration opening ceremony of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre
for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) in Vienna, Austria.
Official
ceremonial opening
And
Gala dinner at Hofburg Palace
The
official ceremonial opening of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International
Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) was held on
Monday, the 26th of November 2012 and it was carried out by the
Foreign Ministers of the three founding States, HRH Saud bin Faisal bin
Abdulaziz al-Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HE. Michael Spindelegger of
the Republic of Austria and H.E. Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo of the Kingdom of
Spain. It was witnessed by KAICIID’s Board of Directors, the Secretary General,
H.E. Faisal bin Abdulrahman bin Muaammar and the Deputy Secretary General, Ms.
Claudia Bandion-Ortner.
The
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew-1, gave the keynote address
to a global audience of more than 600 guests at the Gala Dinner at the Hofburg
Palace including ambassadors, government representatives, religious leaders,
academics, and scholars. Non-governmental organisations, cultural institutions
and other interested parties were also present. The Gala dinner was also
addressed by the UN Secretary General, Ban-Ki-moon, the Ministers of Foreign
Affairs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Austria and the
Kingdom of Spain, His Eminence Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran, President of the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican, Dr. Abdullah
Mohsin Al-Turki, Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL).
Two
personal video messages of congratulations and support were screened, one from
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, The Custodian of Two Holy Mosques and the other
from King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
The
Evening was characterized by a cordial coming together of followers of
different religions and cultures, in a shared spirit of hope and resolve. Deep
conversations with an exchange of experiences in interreligious and
intercultural matters were enjoyed by the guests. Evening attendees took great inspiration
from the potential of KAICIID and re-emphasized their commitment to a belief in
new horizons for dialogue.
In
addition to the ceremonial opening of the Centre, events on that historic day
in the KAICIID journey included a Best Practice Symposium and afterwards a Gala
Dinner, held at the Hofburg Palace.
Best
Practice Symposium
At
Hilton Hotel, Vienna
Earlier,
The Best Practice Symposium was held during the day, from morning to afternoon,
on the same say, on 26th of November at the Hilton Hotel, Vienna, Austria.
There were four workshops, such as i) Conflict Management, ii) Cultural
Programmes, iii) Youth and iv) Religious Education as Enabler. First and second
were held simultaneously and Third and Fourth were held at the same time. So
participants have to chose either First or Second and Third or Fourth. I
attended the First and the Fourth Symposium workshop
Historical Background
In
this connection, it may be mentioned that King Abdullah began this journey of
his interfaith dialogue in 2005 in the Holy City of Makkah, when he called on
all 57 Muslim heads of state to meet in Islam’s holiest city to ponder the
issues of extremism and call for a Muslim renaissance. The King travelled to
Vatican and met Pope Benedict in 2007 offering him peace and friendship on
behalf of the Muslim world.
The
following year, in June 2008, King Abdullah hosted a first historic Interfaith
Dialogue Conference in Makkah al-Mukarramah where more than 500 Muslim
religious scholars and leaders attended.
It was followed by a multi-religious conference in Madrid in July 2008,
which was hosted by King Abdullah along with King Juan Carlos of Spain and
attended by more than 300 representatives from Vatican, Anglican Church,
Judaism, Hinduism and other faiths. Then King Abdullah took the interfaith
dialogue to the global centre-stage at the UN.
The
Secretary General of the Centre, HE Faisal Bin Abdulrahman Bin Muaammar,
stated, “It is my profound belief that this Centre can become a place of
leadership and applied learning, a place where candid dialogue among followers
of different religions and cultures can flourish so that we can value and
cherish the richness of our diversity and live together as good neighbours. And
I am convinced that KAICIID will within a short period of time; build a bridge
for better mutual understanding, facilitating interreligious and intercultural
dialogue to enhance cooperation, respect for diversity, justice and peace.”
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