London Mayor Ken Livingston is among a galaxy of scholars and prominent figures.

CAIRO, May 12, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Denmark is planned to host a one-day international dialogue conference Saturday, May 13, on Islamophobia in the wake of a recent uproar triggered by the publication of cartoons that lampooned Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).

The "Islamophobia. A dilemma in the West" conference will open in the Danish capital Copenhagen to probe ways of promoting mutual understanding and respect for Islam and other religions.

Hosted by Islam Channel, the meeting is attended by a galaxy of Muslim scholars and European officials and media stuff.

Leading among participants are London Mayor Ken Livingston, Muslim scholar Jamal Badawi, Jehad El-Farra; chairman of the Danish Muslim Council, Sheikh Ahmad Abu Laban; head of the Danish Islamic Community, Hon Bob Hawke, former Australian prime minister and Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein.

The meeting is the largest international event in the wake of the controversy sparked the publication of twelve cartoons of Prophet Muhammad by Denmark's mass circulation Jyllands-Posten in September.

The caricatures, including one showing the Prophet with a bomb-shaped turban, have sparked off global and sometimes violent protests.

A massive boycott of Danish products has caused an 85% drop in the country's dairy exports.

Ignorance of Islam

Participants will discuss ways of overcoming ignorance of Islam and Muslims that fuel Islamophobia in the West.

They will also address a host of speeches on the phenomenon and the status of Muslims in the West.

One of the speeches will discuss reasons of perceiving Islam as a threat to the West.

Another speech will tackle Islam and peace as personified in the life of Prophet Muhammad.

A documentary about Islamophobia in the previous years will also be viewed during the event.

In a report in March 2005, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) said that Muslim minorities across Europe have been experiencing growing distrust, hostility and discrimination since the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has also warned that Islamophobia poses a challenge to the spirit that he said unites peoples across the globe.

An EU official has revealed that the EU was set to remove derogatory terminology about Islam like "Islamic terrorism" from its new lexicon of public communication in an effort to fight Islamophobia and to make clear that religion was hijacked by terrorists.