sunni shia relations 091107

King Urges Iran to Avoid Escalating Nuke Tension

BERLIN, 9 November 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday called on Iran to avoid escalating its standoff with the West over its nuclear program and called for a solution that would allow Tehran to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

“It is our strong desire that the Middle East should be free from weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons. The world fears that Iran’s nuclear program would lead to it developing nuclear weapons,” King Abdullah said in an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.

“Iran has announced its nuclear program is intended for peaceful use. If this is the case, then we don’t see any justification for an escalation, confrontation and challenge, which only makes issues more complicated,” he said.

Elaborating on the recent proposal of Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to create a consortium for all users of enriched uranium in the Middle East, King Abdullah said the offer envisaged “setting up a center in accordance with safety and environmental standards under International Atomic Energy Agency’s supervision.”

King Abdullah, who is currently on a European tour, arrived in Germany on a state visit on Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a meeting offered her country’s full support to King Abdullah in his efforts to resolve global conflicts. The king also attended a banquet hosted by President Horst Koehler.

On the second day of his official visit yesterday, King Abdullah discussed various international issues with Merkel. The king conferred on Merkel the King Abdul Aziz Sash that is conferred on prime ministers and crown princes of friendly countries

Earlier, the king visited Berlin’s famed Brandenburg Gate which stood for decades on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall that divided the city. The king also opened a two-day art exhibition organized by the Saudi Foreign Ministry in Berlin.

King Abdullah met with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Steinmeier signed with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, a declaration of intent to hold regular foreign policy consultations. Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf signed an agreement to avoid double taxation with German Deputy Finance Minister Axel Nawrath.

The king also met with Norbert Lammert, president of Bundestag.

The king’s visit is part of a European tour that has already taken him to Britain, where he discussed terrorism and the Middle East peace process with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and the Vatican where he met Pope Benedict XVI.

In his interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine, King Abdullah expressed the views of the Saudi government on wide ranging regional and international topics such as Saudi-German relations, the US-brokered Middle East peace conference and the situation in Iraq and Lebanon.

The king said the German people had every right to be proud of their country’s ancient history and civilization, which has been a tower of intellectual achievements. “It is illogical to slight the image of Germany and its history or to blame its people for the mistakes of a dark era in its history, the first victims of which were the German people besides the whole world. I think Germany managed to overcome this historical era to come back as a great country with its political, economic, cultural and intellectual achievements,” King Abdullah said.

On Turkish threats to launch attacks on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, King Abdullah said that the Kingdom condemned all forms and categories of terrorism. The king added that he hoped Turkey and Iraq would jointly strive to settle the issues peacefully.

Answering a question on the integration of Sunnis in the political life of Iraq, King Abdullah said that only a total national reconciliation of all groups, regardless of their political, religious and ethnic backgrounds, would lead to the stability, reconstruction, territorial integrity and independence of Iraq. “We have the impression that this goal has not yet been achieved on the domestic front,” the king said. He added that Iraq’s neighboring countries should help it achieve peace and avoid interfering in Iraq’s internal matters by stoking sectarian sentiments.

To a question on the chances of success of the proposed Annapolis conference sponsored by President George Bush to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, King Abdullah said everything depended on whether it would find a solution to ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state. “We hope that the conference would deal with core issues in a comprehensive manner with a predetermined time schedule. Then its success could be guaranteed,” he said.

The king hoped that Syria would play a constructive role in the peaceful resolution of Palestinian and Lebanese issues.

On the role played by Saudi Arabia in settling various issues in the region and international conflicts, the king said he did not consider it a burden for him to strive to resolve issues that threaten the security of the region or the world.

The king said that the Saudi government had succeeded in countering the threat of terror in the Kingdom. “But we will never stop until the evil has been uprooted completely with the will of God,” the king affirmed.

He said that the Kingdom would continue introducing reforms in all walks of life with the goal of achieving greater progress and welfare for the people.

The king said that with a rich civilization, a deep-rooted culture and vast human and material potential, Arabs could contribute to international progress in the 21st century.

King Abdullah starts his official tour of Turkey today. Top level visits between the two countries since King Faisal’s visit to Istanbul in 1966 have helped in strengthening mutual relations in areas of politics, economics and culture.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia play important roles in the Middle East as both share strategic, economic and religious interests in the region.

Both countries share views on countering terrorism and of making the Middle East free from all types of weapons of mass destruction.

More than 250, 000 Turks come to Saudi Arabia annually to perform Haj and Umrah. Saudi Arabia is also home to 100,000 Turkish nationals, working in different fields.

As many as 50,000 Saudi tourists visit Turkey annually. The volume of trade between the two countries is $3.3 billion, up from $300 million 24 years ago, according to the Turkish ambassador.

Source: Arab News

The following article seems really relevant to me:

In an editorial on November 8, 2007, Jamal Ahmad Khashogji, editor-in-chief of the liberal Saudi daily Al-Watan, reveals the diplomatic sparring that took place at the Istanbul Conference between Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Khashogji wrote that for all Iran's talk about Islamic unity, Iran is in fact contributing to sectarian division.

The following are excerpts from the editorial:

Iran's Islamic Revolution Speaks in the Name of the Entire [Islamic Nation], But Gives Aid and Forms Alliances on a Sectarian Basis

"At the recent Istanbul conference that was - once again - dedicated to the repercussions of the situation in Iraq, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki delivered his speech in the presence of the foreign ministers of the countries of the region; the U.S. secretary of state,… representatives of the states that are permanent members of the [U.N.] Security Council,… and the U.N. secretary-general...

"[Saudi] Foreign Minister [Prince Saud Al-Faisal] began to take notes, paying attention to every last sentence of his Iranian counterpart's speech. His attention was caught by a list boastfully distributed by Mottaki, disclosing Iranian aid to Iraq.

"When his turn came to speak, Prince Saud Al-Faisal… said that he would not be reading his prepared speech, which he [nonetheless] handed out to his counterparts. Then he gave an improvised speech, less than five minutes long, calling everyone's attention to [the fact] that the Iranian foreign minister had [just] reviewed the aid given by his country to Iraq - schools, clinics, power stations, and so forth.

"'But where?' asked Prince Saud. In answer, he said that according to the Iranian [foreign] minister's statements, all these projects were in Basra, Najaf, and Karbala, and those [that had aided] Baghdad had gone to the majority-Shi'ite Sadr City. Prince Saud asked why this was. And I ask this as well.

"Why does the 'Islamic Revolution in Iran' limit itself to one sect? It speaks in the name of the entire [Islamic] nation whenever it wants to, but when it provides aid and forms alliances, it does so on a strictly sectarian basis, solely with its Shi'ite brothers.

"This is an issue that has become palpable and worrying. You see it in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Were it not for the wisdom of Saudi Arabia, a door would have opened to sectarian polarization - which is a battle and a contest that none of us need.

"Prince Saud Al-Faisal addressed his statements to Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki, saying that the [Saudi] kingdom gives aid to all Iraqis, distributing it evenly among all sects. He added, with full confidence: 'We are ready to build clinics and schools in Shi'ite areas. Are you ready to direct your aid to the Sunnis of Iraq?'

"How can we preserve Iraq's unity if Iran supports only the Shi'ites? What if the [Saudi] kingdom let itself fall into the trap of this divisive logic, and limited its support and relations to only Sunnis? Had the [Saudi] kingdom accepted this division, it would have implicitly accepted the division of Iraq - which it is determined to reject, and which it will continue to reject, whatever the conditions and the challenges may be.

"Iraq's unity should be a matter of principle for all, as it is for the [Saudi] kingdom."

The Time Has Come For Iran to Talk Less About Islamic Unity, And Do More For It

"Perhaps the time has come for us to tell the Iranians that they should talk less about 'Islamic and Muslim unity' and do more for it - and along with it, [more] for the unity of Iraq as well.

"The challenge issued by Minister [Saud Al-Faisal] in Istanbul is good for the Iranians and even better for the Iraqis. [The Iranians] should focus on giving aid, building clinics, and repairing roads, infrastructure, and schools in the Sunni areas, in exchange for the [Saudi] kingdom's continuing its support to all of Iraq, and even focusing its aid in the Shi'ite areas.

"This is a good initiative. Let the brothers in Tehran hasten to [adopt] it. Then we can do more for Iraqi and Muslim unity, and talk less, hold fewer conferences, and give fewer speeches.

Source: MEMRI