King Hassan calls for Islamic comprehensive cultural strategy
Regional-Morocco, Culture, 11/13/1998

King Hassan II called the Islamic World to adopt a comprehensive cultural strategy in a bid to take up the challenges and preserve the major components of the Islamic identity as "defined in the Quran and the Prophet's tradition."

In a message to the second conference of Islamic culture ministers convened in Rabat November 12-14, King Hassan II underlined the importance of such a cultural strategy.

"We should make of the cultural strategy, a stable frame for the cultural action we aspire to, individually and collectively, and a policy based on a number of constant aspects, such as the preservation of the Islamic identity with its major components that are defined in the Quran and the Prophet's tradition, the respect of the features of this identity such as the language which conveys God's word," King Hassan II said stressing the need to preserve the Islamic cultural heritage.

A cultural policy, he stated, will help the Islamic world take up challenges and lower the obstacles hampering the implementation of a unified cultural strategy at the level of the Islamic world.

Among the obstacles, the king mentioned nationalist movements with narrow vision, secessionist attempts, intellectual under-development, illiteracy in addition to the inability to guarantee a balance between population growth and education needs.

The Islamic cultural strategy should seek the consolidation of cultural cooperation among Islamic states as culture has become a major component of development, and a key element to reinforce coexistence, peace and promote human rights, King Hassan II said.

He added that the strategy should target the growing generations to shield them against the adverse impacts of disinformation and extremism and spare them the negative behaviors and psychological ailments prevailing in developed societies.

King Hassan II warned that the foes of the Islamic world who are fully aware of significance of the unity of this Islamic world, seek every possible means to hamper this unity. He urged for assimilating science and technology in other languages, for promoting human resources and for upgrading a balanced development where cultural action is integrated into development policies.

The second ministerial cultural conference is co-sponsored by the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Rabat-based Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).

The first conference was held in Dakar (Senegal) in january 1989.

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