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Blair, Brown meet top Muslims
04/06/2007 11:30 - (SA)
London - British Prime Minister Tony Blair and PM-in-waiting Gordon Brown were to meet international Muslim leaders on Monday at a conference aimed at developing understanding between religions.
Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa and Bosnia-Hercegovina's Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric are among the delegates taking part.
They will be joined by British Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly, David Cameron, the leader of the main opposition Conservatives, Bishop of London Richard Chartres and Mona Siddiqui, professor of Islamic studies at the University of Glasgow, among others.
The event was organised by Britain's prestigious University of Cambridge.
"There is an urgent need for Islam and traditionally Christian cultures to understand one another, specifically from a religious perspective," said Professor David Ford, of the university's inter-faith programme.
"The conference will focus on the relationship between Islam and the non-Muslim world."
The two-day event is to be held at the Foreign Office's plush Lancaster House mansion in central London.
Inter-faith dialogue is one of Blair's key passions, particularly as a tool to combat Islamic extremism.
He is keen to foster an "arc of moderation" in the Middle East of countries who support democracy, the rule of law, tolerance and peaceful co-existence among faiths against extremists.
Finance Minister Brown is set to take over as prime minister on June 27.
- AFP
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