The Dalai Lama is concerned that Muslims are unfairly demonized in American popular consciousness.

CAIRO, April 15, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – A cohort of prominent American Muslim leaders will huddle together on Saturday, April 15, with the iconic Dalia Lama to wash away misconceptions about a much demonized Islam, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

"As long as we are quiet and not trying to explain, the danger and misunderstanding remains," said imam Mehdi Khorasani, whose has invited the Dalai Lama for the meeting.

Speakers at the invitation-only "Gathering of Hearts Illuminating Compassion" meeting is limited to roughly 500 people.

It will consist of presentations by scholars and religious leaders.

Also on the agenda is seeking a broader understanding among faiths and showing that all religions share core values.

Leading among the speakers are Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, the co-founder of the Zaytuna Institute in Hayward, and Rev. Alan Jones, dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, an Episcopal church.

The speakers hope the event will plant a seed for the future.

The Dalai Lama, who has for decades advocated non-violence, is concerned that Muslims are unfairly demonized in American popular consciousness, according to the American paper.

The world-renowned Buddhist leader hopes to help show Islam in its truest form, one of peace.

"The enemy is not out there,'' said Tenzin Dhonden, the Dalai Lama's emissary for peace.

"The enemy is within you. ... How we see religion is in our mind. But religion itself is the truth: peace and harmony."

Two recent polls showed that almost half of Americans have a negative perception of Islam and that one in four of those surveyed have "extreme" anti-Muslim views.

"That's not Islam," said Jack Kornfield, a prominent Buddhist teacher and founder of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin Country.

"Those are extremists and crazies. Quite honestly, you find that in every tradition. Right now, our media is highlighting that."

US evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson drew a diatribe on Tuesday, March 14, from American Christian and Muslim leaders for descending in a new rant against Islam.

Chicago-based syndicated radio commentator Paul Harvey, the most listened-to radio personality in the United States, claimed in December 2003 that Islam "encourages killing."

But after receiving hundreds of angry messages from Muslims, Harvey backtracked on his defamatory comments, praising Islam as a "religion of peace".

"If we let extremist agendas chart the course for us on both sides, we're headed for a very, very frightening world," cautioned Yusuf.

Yusuf, a prominent American Muslim scholar and advisor, said religious fundamentalism has been on the rise everywhere.

"It's all of us. There's no 'us' versus 'them' here. We've got extremists on both sides. If we let extremist agendas chart the course for us on both sides, we're headed for a very, very frightening world."

Polls in Muslim countries have shown that the 9/11 attacks were seen as a good thing by some Muslims while some Americans support bombing the holy city of Makkah.

"Who are the extremists?" Yusuf asked.

He said the meeting with the Dalai Lama will demonstrate that Islam is not at odds with peace.

"Buddhism probably has the best press, because it is associated with non-violence, and Islam has the worst press because it is associated with violence," Yusuf asked.

"By bringing them together we say we can co-exist in harmony, as history showed in Tibet and elsewhere."

Forced into exile from Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama now lives in Dharamsala, India.

His peaceful resistance to China has earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

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