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Saudi King Abdullah calls for Dialogue among Different Religions | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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RIYADH, (AP) – King Abdullah has called for a dialogue among monotheistic religions, including Judaism, the first such proposal from a country where non-Muslims are banned from practicing their faith.

Abdullah says the kingdom’s top clerics have given him the green light to pursue his idea. He says he plans to get the opinion of Muslim leaders from other countries.

Abdullah’s message of tolerance comes at a time of religious tensions caused by the re-igniting of a two-year-old controversy over Danish cartoons deemed by Muslims to be insulting.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, in a recent audio message, warned of a “severe” reaction for Europe’s publication of the cartoons and said they were part of a “new Crusade” against Islam in which Pope Benedict XVI had played a “large and lengthy role.”