King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at an interfaith conference: he has sought to quell extremists

At a resort complex on the outskirts of Riyadh, an eclectic group of Saudi psychologists, religious scholars and security officers watch a video showing bearded men, some with wild manes of dark hair, disembarking from an aircraft. They are greeted by Sheikh Ahmed Gilan, an ebullient cleric who belies the stereotype of the country’s austere religious figures.