UNITED NATIONS, Feb 21: In an effort to help defuse the continuing violence over caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to attend a meeting of European and Islamic countries in Qatar this weekend, his spokesman announced on Monday.

“He hopes on that occasion to meet a number of leaders from Europe and from the Islamic world, and to discuss with them ways of calming the situation,” the spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said of the meeting of the High-Level Group for the Alliance of Civilizations.

The panel would also discuss ways of ‘allowing a constructive dialogue between people of different faiths and traditions based on mutual understanding and respect,’ he added.

The panel was established last July by Mr Annan as part of an effort to bridge gaps between cultures, particularly Islam and the West, that threaten peace in the world. At this weekend’s meeting, the panelists would discuss ways to engage youth and immigrant populations to help bridge differences and combat extremism, Mr Dujarric said.

Jointly led by Federico Mayor, the former head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and a minister and professor of theology from Turkey, the group held first meeting in Majorca, Spain last year.

Members of the panel range from such renowned theologians as Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Karen Armstrong of the United Kingdom, Arthur Schneir of the United States and Mehmet Aydin of Turkey to administrators of cultural institutions, like Ismali Serageldin of Egypt’s Biblioteca Alexandria.