Hang onto your burqa, and watch out for the religious police, because Saudi Arabia is going to host a world conference on human rights.

RIYADH, 2 July 2003 — Saudi Arabia will host an international conference on human rights on Oct. 14, the first conference of its kind to be organized with the help of the Saudi government.

The announcement comes against the background of steps in the Kingdom to set up two human rights commissions.

Saudi Red Crescent Society (SRCS) official Abdullah Al-Hazza, who is also the conference’s secretary-general, said the event was being organized in cooperation with the Ministries of the Interior, Justice and Foreign Affairs.

Al-Hazza said a number of international organizations would participate in the conference, whose theme is “human rights at the time of peace and war.”

The conference will also shed light on the Islamic approach toward human rights.

The SRCS official said invitations had been sent to many local and international organizations. A number of universities, the Shoura Council, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the King Faisal Foundation, the International Red Cross Society, the Muslim World League (MWL), the Italy-based International Institute for Human Rights and some UN organizations including UNESCO and UNICEF have been invited to attend.

The conference, the SRCS sources said, seeks to promote Islam as the religion of peace, tolerance and love. Islam is the first to acknowledge the rights of human being [Jews, of course, not included.—ed.] — a fact, which can be substantiated by historical evidence, they said.

It’s just too easy to take potshots at this one. It would be cruel.