Religious leaders open to Saudi dialogue proposal

A number of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders have expressed their openness to a proposal from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia earlier in the week to engage in dialogue.

"The idea is to ask representatives of all monotheistic religions to sit together with their brothers in faith and sincerity to all religions as we all believe in the same God," the king said Monday night at a seminar on "Culture and the Respect of Religions" in Riyadh, according to the Associated Press.

The call, which Abdullah says has the go-ahead of Saudi Arabia's top Muslim clerics, has surprised many in light of the country's adherence to a strict interpretation of Islam called Wahhabism, as well as the country's poor track record on religious freedom for non-Muslims - Saudi Arabia bans non-Muslim faiths from holding their own services and conversion from Islam to another faith is punishable by death.

The Rev James Loughran, director of the Catholic Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute in New York, said he was "elated" at the king's proposal, whilst Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the largest branch of Judaism in the US, the Union for Reform Judaism, said it was a "dramatic and important development", according to AP.

Muhammad al-Zulfa, of the Saudi Consultative Council, said it was "a message to all extremists: Stop using religion."

In his appeal, King Abdullah pointed to the erosion of the family in societies around the world, the spread of atheism and "a lack of ethics, loyalty, and sincerity for our religions and humanity".

He spoke of his desire to hold conferences with Muslims in other parts of the world to hear their views, as well as meetings with "our brothers" in Christianity and Judaism "so we can agree on something that guarantees the preservation of humanity against those who tamper with ethics, family systems and honesty", reports AP.

It is not clear if Abdullah intends to bring Israeli religious leaders into the dialogue. Egypt and Jordan are currently the only Arab nations to share diplomatic relations with Israel, and Saudi Arabia has so far indicated it will only recognise Israel if it hands over some of its land to the Palestinians.

Abdullah's call came as Muslim-Vatican relations strained over the controversial baptism of a Muslim convert by the Pope last Saturday. Muslim anger has also flared up again recently after Danish newspapers re-printed a cartoon that was interpreted by many Muslims to be an insult against the Prophet Muhammad.

Last week, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden threatened retaliation against Europe for re-printing the cartoons, and accused Pope Benedict of playing a "large and lengthy role" in what he dubbed a "new Crusade" against Islam.