Home > News > MECCA CONFERENCE

ISNA OFFICIALS AT FIRST INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC CONFERENCE ON DIALOGUE IN MECCA

In June 2008, the First International Islamic Conference on Dialogue was held in Mecca, Saudi Arabia with Muslim leaders from across the globe. The four-day conference was organized by the Muslim World League with the support of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
 
King Abdullah personally inaugurated the conference and welcomed everyone to the first major plenary session which hosted speakers such as: former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the President of Al-Azhar University in Cairo and the Secretary General of the Muslim World League.
 
In addition to ISNA, there were about 600 international participants from different countries around the world. Representing the true diversity of Islam, leaders of different sects, schools of thought and ethnicities were all represented at the summit in Mecca.
 
Additionally, media outlets from around the world covered the Mecca Conference. Delegations of television, radio and print media journalists were represented from Pakistan, Egypt, United Kingdom, Morocco and many other countries. This clearly showed that the organizers wanted the Muslim masses in those countries to know about the proceedings of the Conference and let the Muslim world celebrate a paradigm shift in modern Islamic thought.
 
Dr. Sayyid M Syeed, Dr. Jamal Badawi, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqui and ISNA Vice President, Imam Mohammed Magid represented ISNA at the Mecca Conference. They had a good opportunity to talk about their experiences in American interfaith dialogue through addressing the panels, individual meetings and media interviews. The fact that ISNA has given top priority to interfaith dialogue by opening an interfaith office in Washington DC was a clear message to all participants and organizers how the American Muslim community has taken the lead on interfaith dialogue.
 
The Mecca Conference was truly a victory for peaceful cooperation and mutual understanding between various schools of thought within Islamic community. The high profile of the conference and the commitment to support various programs that strengthen dialogue between religions was promising in terms of advancing the image of Islam and Muslims around the world.