King Abdullah Of Saudi Arabia: Terrorism Is The Enemy Of Every Religion

November 13, 2008 6:46 a.m. EST

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (BANG) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has branded terrorism the "enemy of every religion."

The monarch called for a united front to combat hatred and promote tolerance at the opening of a United Nations (UN) General Assembly meeting in Riyadh, his country's capital city.

The king said: "We state with a unified voice that religions through which Almighty God sought to bring happiness to mankind should not be turned into instruments to cause misery."

"Terrorism and criminality are the enemies of every religion and every civilization. They would not have emerged except for the absence of the principle of tolerance.

"Human beings were created as equals and partners on this planet. Either they live together in peace and harmony or they will inevitably be consumed by the flames of misunderstanding, malice and hatred."

Israeli President Shimon Peres praised Abdullah at the meeting, saying: "Your majesty, the King of Saudi Arabia, I was listening to your message. I wish that your voice will become the prevailing voice of the whole region, of all people. It's right, it's needed, it's promising."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also praised Abdullah, calling the meeting "a truly inspiring initiative for global harmony."

He added: "Extremist ideologies are on the rise. Societies are more polarized. Anti-Semitism remains a scourge. Islamophobia has emerged as a new term for an old and terrible form of prejudice."

The two-day event is seen as marking a new direction for the country, which has attempted to improve its image after its Wahhabi Islamic regime came in for criticism following the September 11 attacks on America in 2001.

Fifteen of the 19 Arabs who killed around 3,000 people by flying planes into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon, near Washington, were Saudis acting in the name of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was also born in Saudi Arabia.

Outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, as well as leaders and diplomats from 60 other countries, are taking part in the forum.

The meeting has come under criticism from human rights groups who argue it gives Saudi Arabia - who forbid public non-Muslim worship, impose gender segregation and carry out public beheadings - to promote religious tolerance while imposing discrimination at home.