Muscat: The 9th Islamic Conference of Culture Ministers began here Monday with Qatari participation.
Activities of the three-day conference, held under the theme "Towards Intermediary Developmental Culture for the Advancement of Islamic Societies", include a round-table conference at the ministerial level aimed to promote cultural mediation in the Muslim world .
Addressing the conference, HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari said that Qatar firmly believes in the need of dialogue empowerment among civilizations and cultures, adding that special efforts have been made in this direction and a number of events and conferences have been organized to activate this dialogue in order to create interaction required among all communities due to their different cultures.
HE the Minister explained that Islamic culture is an open culture that respects others and focuses on strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation between civilizations and people.
He called for reconsidering the current cultural discourse so as to restore real value of culture and enable the nation resume its contribution to human culture thanks to contents of urbanization and human rights in light of the current civilization developments .
The Minister said that the great cultural challenges come as part of the new historical context to make the Islamic countries exert efforts to promote their culture, adding that officials responsible for culture in the Muslim world require to double efforts to improve culture components.
Dr. Al-Kuwari called for enhancing the principle of dialogue among civilizations on the basis of mutual understanding between human beings and aims to attain freedom , intellectual and spiritual advancement among all human beings who are trying to achieve their unity and brotherhood.
HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage discussed how the State of Qatar is playing a role in advancing dialogue between different cultures, whether through establishing centers or holding conferences on the subject. He +
added that Qatar's contribution is stemming from a belief that cultural dialogue promotes peace and conserves the unique values of each culture.
Dr. Al Kuwari said that the Islamic Culture promotes peace and respect. As a result, others should not look to build walls to separate them from people in the Islamic world. HE the Minister said that all people are required to stand up to hateful ideas because they don't originate in Islamic culture, pointing out that the new age requires a new, more modern cultural rhetoric.
HE the Minister also told attendees of the conference that Qatar has nominated him as Director-General of UNESCO. He expressed his hope that participants in the conference would endorse the nomination, as did GCC members.
QNA
