Saudi King Makes Major Religious Tolerance Overture

According to press reports today, Saudi Arabian King Abdullah has proposed a sort of world religion summit among the three largest monotheistic faith groups, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It was reportedly the first time any Arab national leader had made such a call.

This is tremendous news in the circles in which I travel and hang out. I am heavily involved in interfaith activities on the Monterey Peninsula and a long-time advocate of tolerant and appreciate coexistence among the world's religions. Virtually all of the violence in the world since the end of World War II can be traced back to some religious intolerance, even though that attitude often manifests in disagreement over what appear to be political and cultural concerns.

"There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There will be no peace among the religions without dialogue among the religions," famed theologian Hans Kung has said. I think he's absolutely right. Because of this among many other things, I welcome King Abdullah's invitation to dialog with open mind, open heart and joy.