LONDON, June 3: Prime Minister Tony Blair will meet Muslim leaders from all over the world at a two-day conference on Islam, being hosted by the University of Cambridge from Monday.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was also to attend the conference but it has been said that due to an unscheduled meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) on Monday he has cancelled the programme.
The event aims to explore ways in which greater unity and understanding might be fostered between Muslims and non-Muslims in the societies in which they live. Representatives from more than 30 countries will be attending.
The discussions are expected not only to address policy and policy-makers at the domestic and international levels, but also speak about the concerns of local communities in Britain and elsewhere.
The key question for the conference will be to consider how to extend the debate on to the streets and into local communities.
The conference is being organised by The Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme (CIP), based in the University’s Faculty of Divinity. CIP is a teaching and research programme that seeks to achieve a deeper understanding of Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
It also aims to develop public outreach programmes for the benefit of faith communities and wider society. The Weidenfield Institute for Strategic Dialogue (WISD) and the Coexist Foundation are sponsoring the conference.
The event will open with a video message from Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, while the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, will host a reception in the evening.
Other speakers will include the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shaikh Ali Gomaa; the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, Mufti Mustafa Ceric; Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Glasgow; and the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres.
