By Mustafa Abdel-Halim, IOL Staff

CAIRO, March 6 (IslamOnline.net) – London will host on March 15 the first conference on the impact of Zionism on Jewish, Christian and Muslim relations, organizers said on Saturday, March 6.

Due to take place in the University of London, the panel of speakers include such luminaries as Archimandrite Attalla Hanna, the spokesman of the Orthodox Church in occupied Jerusalem, Rabbi Yisroel Weiss of Natueri Karta International, Egyptian professor Abdel-Wahab El-Messiri, an expert in Zionism, and Azzam Tamimi of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB).

"We want to take the message as clear to people; there is a difference between Zionism and Judaism," Ismail Patel, chairman of the organizing Friends of Al-Aqsa, told IslamOnline.net.

The group is a non-profit organization concerned with upholding the human rights of the Palestinians, and stands for the promotion and defense of basic human rights.

Patel said that many people in the West misunderstand the nature of the conflict in the holy land as between Muslims and Jews, something he stressed the conference would discuss in detail.

"The tension is rather with Zionist ideologists standing for colonization," he clarified, lamenting that many are ignorant of the fact.

'Well-Attended'

The organizers boasted that the event would be "well-attended", as many people like to know much more about the roots of the conflict and the nature of relations between the three heavenly religions.

"Relations between the three religions are fragile, and people of different faiths need to reach out to the common ideology for them to communicate," Ihtisham Hibatullah, the head of the MAB media office, said.

He believes London is the perfect venue for the gathering, where values of justice and human rights turned many different people together.

"Look how many people gathered here against the Iraq invasion, and how many other sympathizers with the Palestinian cause are ready to turn up here against Israeli occupation," Hibatullah said.

When Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived in London on July 13, thousands took to the streets to protest the visit, urging the government to strain relations with his country.

Christian Zionism

The London conference would also help bring Muslims and Christians much closer.

Stephen Sizer, a lecturer with a doctorate on Christian Zionism, will give a speech on the subject.

"I will stress that not all Christians support Zionism, and how they should make a further constructive contribution to the Middle East crisis," he said.

For Sizar, the issue has much to do with awareness, warning that about half of the Britons and one in four Americans believe it is their responsibility to back Israel.

"We must help them to know the true image of what Israel truly is through showing the origins of Zionism and Christian Zionism," he said.

Sizar asserted that in such a way people could pressure their governments to end "the inaccurate way of dealing with and using the Bible" to justify a certain pro-Israel ideology.

No Fears

As much as the goal of the conference is concerned, people are ready to learn – in abundance really.

According to an E.U. poll released Monday, October 3, some 59 per cent of Europeans believe Israel poses the biggest threat to world peace, just ahead of North Korea, Iran and the United States.

The poll sparked ready-made accusations of anti-Semitism from Israeli authorities and Jewish groups.

Asked whether he believes participants and audience of the London conference would be fearful to attend to avoid these accusations, the editor of Muslim News – the mouthpiece of British Muslims – give a clear "No".

"People are emotionally involved. They are sympathetic with the Palestinians," Ahmed Versi said confidently.

The London conference is supported by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Scottish Media Watch and Deir Yassin Remembered.

On May 2, Israeli forces gunned down a freelance British television journalist while filming demolition of Palestinian houses in the southern town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Last year, 21-year-old British activist Thomas Hurndall was killed while trying to rescue two Palestinian children from shooting by Israeli soldiers in Jenin, the southern Gaza Strip.

His parents came under fire themselves as they traveled to the spot where their son was hit.

On November 21, Ian Hook, a 21-year-old British activist was shot dead by an Israeli soldier inside a clearly marked U.N. compound in Jenin, while protesting in solidarity with the Palestinians.