DICIC receives Her Excellency Ms. Natalie Baker, Chargé d’Affairs of the US Embassy in Qatar

06 Feb DICIC receives Her Excellency Ms. Natalie Baker, Chargé d’Affairs of the US Embassy in Qatar

Prof. Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Naimi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, received H.E. Ms. Natalie Baker, Chargé d’Affairs of the United States of America Embassy in Qatar, on Wednesday morning, February 2, 2022 at the headquarters of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue located in Katara Cultural Village.

At the onset of the meeting, Dr. Al-Naimi congratulated Ms. Natalie Baker on her new position, and wished her a successful and fruitful term in Qatar, in the spirit of continuing effective and mutual cooperation between the US Embassy and the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue. He also stressed the center’s continued readiness to open channels of cooperation with all parties from corresponding centers and institutions in the United States of America in order to establish and spread a culture of peace and coexistence among religions, cultures and civilizations.

For her part, Ms. Baker praised the role of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue and its efforts in promoting a culture of interfaith dialogue to achieve peaceful coexistence among adherents of different religions. She also expressed what she saw as the role of the State of Qatar in spreading a culture of coexistence and dialogue at the international level.

The meeting dealt with introducing the center’s international and local activities. Dr. Al-Naimi gave a presentation on the various activities offered by the center which includes the annual international conference for interfaith dialogue, which will be held this year on 24 & 25 May. The conference welcomes all invitees from America who have been nominated by the embassy, including academics and clergymen from the three monotheistic religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism). He also mentioned the community round tables that the center holds in Qatar on a regular basis to discuss all issues of interest to the communities of all religions and nationalities residing in the land of Qatar, as well as the scientific Adyan journal issued by the center, as well as training activities for school students in the field of dialogue with the other, especially religious dialogue, how to accept the other and build bridges of communication. He also touched upon the other cultural forums organized by the Center for the different communities.

Among the many topics discussed in the meeting, the status of religious freedom and the importance of addressing hate speech through religious discourse, not only in Qatar and the communities residing in it, but also in other countries such as Afghanistan and the Middle East were also discussed along with the extent of possibilities to support solutions through interfaith dialogue.

For his part, Dr. Al-Naimi explained that religious freedom is guaranteed for followers of all religions present in Qatar, and that they practice their religious rites with ease and without any significant difficulties, and that they are satisfied with their space.

As for the center’s relationship with the US Embassy, during the exchange, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi emphasized the existence of continuous communication with the embassy and positive participation in the activities organized by the center periodically. This cooperation resulted in the agreement to hold a joint cultural symposium between the center and the US embassy in the coming period entitled “The Role of Interfaith Dialogue in Building Trust between Multicultural Societies.”

It is worth noting that the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue seeks in all its activities to achieve a culture of peaceful coexistence, and to confront terrorism and extremism through continued cooperation with institutions and centers concerned with dialogue at the local and international levels.