The Jerusalem-based Rabbi David Rosen was invited to Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh last week as part of an interfaith meeting known as KAICIID.  Rabbi Rosen, representing the Jewish faith, together with eight other members of the KAICIID board of governors representing other religions, were hosted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. The king hosted the group at his formal residence and royal palace on Thursday.

Rabbi David Rosen is a leading figure in interfaith cooperation and is also an Israeli citizen making his meeting with the king even more unique.

According to Rosen, King Salman addressed the group from KAICIID and spoke about the changes in Saudi Arabia with regards to the worship of Islam and how the country as a whole is adopting a more open form of Islam than that which it has observed until now.

Rosen added that according to the king, political Islam and extreme nationalism have forced Saudi Arabia into a more protective and reactive position in regard to its attitude to the Islamic faith. He, therefore, asserted that Saudi Arabia had been unduly influenced by extremist ideologies in recent decades and that the country was now restoring its culture to that of its original, enlightened Islamic orientation, a part of which was an openness to other religions.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)