Center Goals

Speech by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, then Crown Prince Abdullah, Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard , announcing the consent given by the Late King Fahd for the establishment of the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue

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Praise be to Almighty God who ordered us in the holy Qur’an to join forces with others in implementing worthy deeds In the name of God, the most merciful and most gracious and in fear of God and peace be on the Prophet of Allah who guided us to be friendly toward every Muslim

Dear brothers

Recently we have witnessed a very important development which found expression in the convening of the national dialogue forum which brought together the elite of our society from different persuasions and schools of thought. They met under the umbrella of Islamic fraternity and exchanged views in the arena of national brotherhood.

Toward the end of their meeting they came up with some constructive recommendations which are expected to reinforce their adherence to their cherished faith and to further strengthen national unity. All citizens of this country owe these pioneers profuse thanks and appreciation.

These most esteemed brothers of ours realized the need for continuing the dialogue so that more people can take part in the exchange of views. They wanted to evolve the dialogue into a constructive way of life in the Kingdom. I am happy to announce that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, has given his consent to the establishment of the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue so that the new center will be in a position to realize the foregoing objectives. Preparations are being made to select the site of the new center, which will be located in Riyadh. To help the center begin operation as soon as possible, various facilities of the King Abdulaziz Public Library will be placed at its disposal.

I have no doubt that the establishment of the center and the continuation of the dialogue will turn out to be a historic achievement, which could go a long way toward creating a new channel for responsible self-expression. In the long run, this will be very effective in fighting extremism and fanaticism and can create a healthy and clean environment which promotes enlightened attitude and rejects terrorism and terrorist ideologies.

Dear brothers,

In this beloved homeland of ours we were able to realize peace, security and prosperity, because we strictly adhered to the Islamic faith and because we equally adhered to the unity of our homeland and the equality of its children. To be assured of success any dialogue must be conducted in line with these two basic principles and be dedicated to further strengthening them. We will have no life without Islam and we will have no greatness without the unity of our motherland. We will not permit anyone, no matter who he is, to tamper with the principles of our faith and in same manner we will not let anyone undermine the unity of our homeland no matter whoever he may be.

The terms of reference of the national dialogue must be based on the practices and customs of early Muslims which are embraced by the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Early Muslims, May Allah be pleased with them, used to conduct the exchange of views with wisdom and with sound advice. Their activities are based on the guiding words of the Prophet, peace be upon him. The Prophet (pbuh) said “Anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day should utter a nice word or remain silent. Early Muslims considered abusing a fellow Muslim an act of deviation and killing him outright apostasy. This is the right path that a dialogue should follow.

I am confident that the nation’s ulema and intellectuals are among those who follow this right path. They fully realize as I do that the Saudi government and people are not prepared to see the freedom to conduct dialogue to degenerate into the exchange of abuses or into waging attacks on the nation’s shining symbols or against its leading ulemas.

This homeland, which has the honor of serving the two holy Harams and to which the hearts of Muslims from all over the world are attached, is not prepared to accommodate any idea even with slightest variation with the basic tenets of Islam. In the same manner, this homeland will not accept any ideology that is based on misinterpreting Islamic teachings and which use misleading emblems to justify its evil scheme of sowing terror and declaring practicing Muslims as apostates. The Saudi people will not accept any substitute for a moderate belief which rejects fanaticism as it rejects moral degeneration and permissiveness.