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OIC to Provide Greater Support for King Abdullah’s Inter-Faith Dialogue Initiative | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Jeddah, Asharq Al-Awsat- Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference [OIC] confirmed that the initiative put forward by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz for dialogue between religions and civilizations remains at the top of the OIC agenda. He said that the OIC continue to put forward projects to help activate dialogue with the West and other civilizations.

In an exclusive statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ihsanoglu said that “this initiative gains its importance from the special position that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz has in the Islamic World, and he represents the consensus of the Muslim ummah on this very sensitive issue. On this basis, the OIC is seeking to provide greater support and international backing to active a framework of dialogue with the West, on all levels, cultural and political, particularly in light of the emergence of ‘Islamophobia’ in Western society, which is something that mocks the values and sanctities of Islam.”

Ihsanoglu added that the OIC is taking action in the international arena to put a halt to the provocative threats that the Al-Aqsa Mosque must be destroyed, and that the [Jewish] Third Temple must be built upon its ruins. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the city of Jerusalem is a red line which can never be circumvented, and we cannot stand idly by until the Zionists implement their plan to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque, for it will be too late to take action by then.” Ihsanoglu also revealed that he will visit Jordan in order to discuss repercussions to the Israeli threats towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Informed sources within the OIC have also told Asharq Al-Awsat that OIC Secretary-General Dr. Ihsanoglu has taken action on the international arena to prevent Israel from providing misleading and untrue information about the Jewish heritage of occupied East Jerusalem at the Shanghai 2010 Expo.

An OIC source said “Ihsanoglu sent a telegram to the Chinese Foreign Minister, in which he stressed his rejection of these blasphemous Israel claims regarding Jerusalem, and he [also] expressed his hope that China will take the appropriate action to prevent Israel from exploiting the Shanghai 2010 Expo.”

The source added “The Secretary-General received a letter from Palestinian National Authority Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki in which he revealed that Israel will attempt to provide misleading information about the city of Jerusalem during the Shanghai 2010 Expo.”