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Arab Intellectuals Meet to Discuss "Conflict of Civilizations"
Additional
reporting by Nashwa Nashaat
CAIRO, Nov. 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Some 100 Arab intellectuals will meet Monday and Tuesday at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo to argue against the idea there is a conflict of civilizations, the Arab League said.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa has called for the meeting, which aims at defining a general framework for an Arab plan of action regarding a dialogue on civilization.
According to an Arab League statement, the gathering is being convened upon the Secretary-General's initiative and will bring together intellectuals from all 22 member states. The theme of the conference is "The Dialogue of Civilizations: An Exchange, Not a Conflict."
After the deadly Sept. 11 attacks, "we observed that there have been doubts [in the West] about Arab citizens and some practices against the Arabs, and that is why we have convened this conference to ready ourselves against the propagation of theses which evoke a conflict of civilizations," Moussa said, quoted by state-run mass daily newspaper
Al-Ahram.
The conference is expected to adopt recommendations on means of dealing with "attempts to distort Arab culture and Islamic civilization," Moussa said.
These recommendations will be submitted to Arab heads of state in March at their next summit in Beirut. "Certain urgent recommendations will be applied immediately," he added without further clarification.
On the matter of funding the dialogue, Moussa said he will raise the issue of establishing a fund to support it, and will open a door for donations to support the urgent issue. "The Arab citizen is now accused of terrible things and we all should join forces to refute the accusation," Moussa said.
The Secretary-General added he will call upon citizens, Arab agencies, banks and even governments to support the proposed fund.
Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salamé and Jordan's Prince al-Hassan bin Talal will attend the conference, as well as a number of intellectuals and analysts from various Arab countries.
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