Saudi king calls for talks with Christians, Jews

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Monday proposed inter-faith talks between Muslims, Christians and Jews, the official SPA news agency reported.

"I ask representatives of all the monotheistic religions to meet with their brothers in faith," the king told delegates to a seminar on "Dialogue Among Civilizations between Japan and the Islamic World."

SPA reported that top Saudi clerics had given the green light for the idea, and that Muslim leaders from other countries would now be consulted.

"God willing, we will then meet with our brothers from other religions, including those of the Torah and the Gospel... to come up with ways to safeguard humanity," the king said.

The news agency said he also intended to address the United Nations on the subject.

"We have lost sincerity, morals, fidelity and attachment to our religions and to humanity," the king said, deploring "the disintegration of the family and the rise of atheism in the world -- a frightening phenomenon that all religions must confront and vanquish."

The monarch said he had discussed the project, which he has been mulling over for two years, with Pope Benedict XVI during his landmark visit to the Vatican last November.