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MABDA Report 19/7/2011

Malaysia Premier Is to Meet With the Pope

Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia is scheduled to meet with Pope Benedict XVI in Italy on Monday, in a visit that analysts say is intended to signal a wish to mend ties with the country’s Christians after a series of episodes, including the firebombing of churches, that have strained interfaith relations in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/18/world/asia/18malaysia.html?_r=1

Clinton Works With Allies on Ways to Fight Religious Intolerance

The U.S. and allies are seeking better responses to acts of religious intolerance such as burnings of the Koran and cartoons that mock the Prophet Muhammad.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed with religious and political leaders today in Istanbul how to build on a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution passed March 24, which calls for promoting tolerance and respect for diversity of beliefs, without restricting legitimate free speech.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-15/clinton-works-with-allies-on-ways-to-fight-religious-intolerance.html

United Nations High-level Meeting on Youth, 25-26 July 2011

As part of the International Year of Youth, the General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting on youth on 25 and 26 July 2011. The high-level meeting will have as its overarching theme “Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding”.

The high-level meeting will comprise two consecutive informal interactive round tables on 25 July 2011 and two plenary meetings on 26 July 2011.

http://social.un.org/youthyear/high-level-meeting.html

Focolare President on Interreligious Meeting in Assisi

The meeting is the third in a series of similar gatherings held in the Italian town, the first two were held in 1986 and 2002. The 1986 meeting was called by John Paul II on the occasion of the U.N. International Year of Peace, and the next meeting, on Jan. 24, 2002, was convoked by John Paul II following the Sept. 11 attacks, and it was geared especially to ward off the danger of a confrontation with Islam.

http://www.zenit.org/article-33064?l=english