Austria Hosts Conference on Relations Between Muslims and Non-Muslims in Europe

November 16, 2005

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/11/C0B38F2D-97FB-4A06-B442-6F6B97CBED71.html

On November 16, 2005 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported, "A major international conference on Islam concluded in Vienna today with strong appeals from prominent Muslim leaders to recognize international terrorism as simply 'terrorism.' Political figures from Islamic countries, including the presidents of Iraq and Afghanistan, argued that it should never be labeled 'Islamic' or 'Muslim' terrorism because Islam is based on peace, dialogue, and tolerance... Lakhdar Brahimi is an adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. As the first Muslim speaker, he summed up the appeal by Muslim leaders to the rest of the world. 'We must educate ourselves and our societies to go beyond stereotypes of the other and avoid simplistic characterizations that exacerbate misunderstandings and prevent real problems [from] being tackled,' Brahimi said."