Dr. Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al Farsy, the Minister of Culture and Information, held at Crown Plaza hotel in Jeddah tonight a reception party in honor of the heads and members of media delegations who were hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Information to contribute to the coverage of Hajj events to all over the world.
Dr. Al Farsy and Prince Turki bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Assistant Minister of Culture and Information, received the guests.
Addressing the gathering were Ameen Basyooni, President of Nile Sat company on behalf of the Arab countries delegations and Ottman Tamara, the Director of the Minister of Information of Guinea, who spoke on behalf of the African countries delegations.
They praised the services rendered to pilgrims and described this year's Hajj a complete success. They thanked the Saudi Minister of Culture and Information and his associates for the media facilities put at their disposal to help them accomplish their job in the proper way.
Also addressing the elite gathering, Dr. Al Farsy conveyed to the attendees, who represent a spectrum of Muslim thinkers, intellectuals and media representatives, the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, and their congratulations on the media success in serving the Islamic nation.
Dr. Al Farsy also expressed his pleasure at welcoming the media representatives as one family that has met in amity and with good intentions, to give, through a distinguished performance, audiences the real picture of Islam and the true nature of Muslims.
The Saudi Minister of Culture and Information reminded his audience that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has, since 1979, well before the events of September 2001, warned against the imminent dangers resulting from the deviant thought, deviant thought which can bring forth extremism and terrorism, now clearly shown to belong to no nationality, religion or country.
The eradication of this phenomenon requires the orchestration of national, regional and international efforts. There is a need to assure people of their well-being and to help them avoid the evils and unfaithfulness of the deviant groups, Dr. Al Farsyi said.
The Minister of Information and Culture recalled that just recently we have all been at Arafat, Muzdalifa and Mina where we, as media people, have played our role in showing the world, through the different media, how more than two and a half million Muslims from more than 160 nationalities have performed their rituals in tranquility, peace, security and comfort. All were brothers walking happily side by side on this sacred soil.
He said he could draw two lessons from that event: Firstly: that the media coverage which has been prepared in the most honest, professional and objective ways and orchestrated in the service of Islam and Muslims can penetrate deeply into the international arenas and reflect to the world community the finest picture of the real Islam and highlight the righteous orientation of Muslims the majority of whom are committed to moderation.
Secondly: that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in its entirety, is enjoying, thanks to Allah God, security and stability which we would like the world at large to enjoy, so that mankind can feel safe in person and be assured that their property and honor are secure, as is the case lived and felt by the guests of God while performing their rituals side by side during this Hajj. This could not have been accomplished without the help of God Almighty and the efforts exerted by the leadership of this country who have inherited and shouldered this honorable role, the minister said.
Therefore, there is a dire and urgent need for Islamic countries to present a consolidated front.
Hence, hopes are fastened on those who are sincere in adopting whatever policies they are about to embark on and to forge objective plans and programs that call for unity and solidarity rather than disunity, sedition, and dissidece. Such attitudes will contribute to consolidating the fraternal ties and confirming the purity of Islam through explaining its ramifications, objectives and goals to non-Muslims. It will also pave the way for the coming generations to deepen the roots of the language of dialogue and respect for the "other" according to the principles and instructions of the Sharia faith which is characterized by moderation, maintenance of rights, abhorance of blood-shed and killing, and rejection of terrorism and extremism. Islam is a faith appropriate for all times and places until the Day of Resurrection.
My brothers,
Of the many things I wanted to address, these are only few cases in point, due to time constraint. With these, I meant to remind myself first and my brothers second of the importance of more understanding of the nature of the current period through which the Islamic nation is living, which calls for increasing vigilance and caution and work for strengthening constructive contacts among media specialists to face the challenges ahead through enabling cooperation and efforts.
The Minister concluded by thanking those who kindly responded to his invitation to attend this event, congratulating those who performed Hajj on their personal achievement, and wishing all of them a safe return home.
He also thanked the editors-in-chief of Saudi newspapers and their aides as well as the personnel of the Ministry of Culture and Information for their contributions to the coverage of Hajj events.
At the end of the reception, the guests of the Ministry of Culture and Information forwarded a cable of thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Abdullah and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz for these great capabilities that have been mobilized for the service of the guests of God, and that have enabled pilgrims to perform their rituals in security, peace and comfort.
They congratulated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its government on the success of Hajj and on the blessed Eid Al Adha, wishing the Arab and Muslim nations many well-returns.
Their thanks were also extended to the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al Farsy and the personnel of the Ministry for attending to needs of media representatives who enjoyed their presence at Hajj areas.
