They Come in 'Peace'

Saudi Arabia permits no infidels to visit its two holy mosques, the ones over which its king claims to be "custodian". (The position may sound janitorial, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't entail His Highness having to do any actual mopping up.) Nor does it permit other religions to construct houses of worship. It also spends oodles of shekels around the world, making sure its Wahhabi message is taught in schools, preached in mosques and maintains many departments of many Western universities in its thrall. Despite all this, it is considered to be "moderate," and gets to participate in shmancy international conference where the high-faluting language touting bogus achievements runs fast and thick--as thick as an oil spill off a non-Arabian gulf coast. From Arab News:

RIO DE JANEIRO: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah highlighted the efforts of Saudi Arabia to foster peace and end clashes in the world in the Alliance of Civilizations conference currently being held in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opened the two-day conference of the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), an offshoot of the United Nation, in Rio on Friday.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and many world leaders are attending the conference.

The UNAOC mobilizes concerted action toward reaffirming a paradigm of mutual respect among peoples of different cultural and religious backgrounds. It aims to bridge the world’s divides and to build trust and understanding across cultures and communities worldwide.

On behalf of King Abdullah, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal headed the Saudi delegation to the conference and read out the king’s speech.

“This third forum of UNAOC has a special significance in the light of the ongoing crises and conflicts in the world. It needs our concerted efforts to counter the violence and terror caused by extremist groups who raise a language of hatred,” King Abdullah said in the speech read out by Prince Saud.

Saudi Arabia has been consistently promoting a policy of dialogue of civilizations in order to strengthen peaceful coexistence and understanding in the world. It strives to spread humanitarian values. It seeks to replace confrontation with harmony as a means to defuse tension and achieve peace, the king’s speech said...

Allow me to translate for those trusting souls who take this malarkey at face value: "humanitarian values"=sharia; "peace"= the quietude that will be in place world-wide once sharia is in the driver's seat.