His Excellency Prof. Ibrahim Saleh Al-Naimi receives the Swedish Ambassador to Doha His Excellency Mr. Gautam Bhattacharyya at DICID headquarters

28 Sep His Excellency Prof. Ibrahim Saleh Al-Naimi receives the Swedish Ambassador to Doha His Excellency Mr. Gautam Bhattacharyya at DICID headquarters

His Excellency Prof. Ibrahim Saleh Al-Naimi, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) Qatar, received His Excellency Mr. Gautam Bhattacharyya the Swedish Ambassador to Doha at the DICID headquarter in Katara Cultural Village.

The meeting began with a warm welcoming by H.E. Prof. Al-Naimi to the distinguished guest H.E. Mr. Bhattacharyya, followed by a deep word of appreciation and thanks for paying a special visit to the DICID. Meanwhile, H.E. Prof. Al-Naimi expressed DICID’s reediness to support the related focused and objective initiatives that aim at promoting coexistence and trust-building among followers of traditional religions, emphasizing the fact that the cooperation with similar bodies is among the DICID’s main objectives and targets in realizing its vision and missions.

On the other hand, H.E. Mr. Bhattacharyya also thanked Prof. Ibrahim for the opportunity and the distinctive welcome. The ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the State of Qatar spoke about the initiatives taken by the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue and what he has seen since his arrival in the country a year ago with regard to fostering a culture of coexistence and dialogue at the national and international levels.
H.E. Prof. Al-Naimi was keen to address the topic of insulting religious sanctuaries and its effects and consequences that endanger our efforts to promote a culture of religious tolerance and peace, noting that the Center has issued a strong condemnation of what occurred in Sweden when someone burned a copy of the Holy Quran in front of the Stockholm Central Mosque.

According to Ambassador H.E Mr. Bhattacharyya, such acts that violate religious sanctities are unacceptable, and the Swedish government is working hard to stop them from happening again. The government, relevant ministries, and parliament have met with religious leaders from all different religions to discuss how to change these laws on freedom of expression, which some see as a way to violate the rights of others and their religious sanctities, he added.

Last but not least, Prof. Al-Naimi shed light on the most vital activities Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue works on, such as organizing conferences, conducting seminars and symposiums, and so on and so forth. Most of these activities as initiatives from the center based on its clear visions and missions and charted strategic plans, some others are results of suggestions and proposals from DICID friends and partners while others are results of MOUs, DICID signed with similar organizations.

H.E. Prof. Al-Naimi stressed that the Center is fully prepared to open channels of cooperation with all parties in Sweden who wish to work together to serve humanity, exchange experiences, and foster a culture of dialogue among adherents of religions; keeping in mind that the State of Qatar and Sweden are both interested in coexistence and peace, and they both make great efforts on it. H.E. Prof. Al-Naimi thanked H.E. the Ambassador for the visit and presented him with a number of recent publications from the Center. Nevertheless, DICID welcomes any proposals and ideas enabling two parties to work together in the future.