Tehran - Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami Monday
hosted an international religious conference aimed at differentiating
between Islam the religion and Islamism as an ideology for terrorism.
The conference, titled Religion in the Modern World, was organized
by the Dialogue Among Civilizations' Centre, an Iranian
non-governmental organization headed by Khatami; the Club of Madrid,
an independent organization promoting democracy; and the Oslo Centre
for Peace and Human Rights, headed by former Norwegian premier Kjell
Magne Bondevik.
Khatami invited several renowned political figures, including
Bondevik, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, former presidents
Mary Robinson of Ireland and Jorge Sampaio of Portugal as well as
Italian ex-premier Romano Prodi.
'What is now being exposed as religion (Islam) is not what
religion is truly about,' Khatami said in his opening speech.
The former reformist president, an advocate of global religious
understanding who may run again in the June presidential election,
warned against isolating Islam as a religion of violence.
Islamic Iran has complained repeatedly about growing Islamophobia
in the West and urged not to put all Muslims at the same level as
Islamists involved in terrorist operations.
Annan said the current global problem is not the Bible or the
Koran, but how certain circles violently misuse them for their
political aims.
Bondevik praised the conference for trying to bring various
religions and cultures closer together, but also criticized the
Iranian administration for imposing religious limitations.
Referring to religious minorities, whom the West says are being
discriminated against in Iran, he said that they should have the same
legal rights as majorities.
Bondevik further touched on the delicate issue of conversions and
said that all people should have the right to convert to other
religions without any fear.
Conversion is one of the most controversial issues in Iran, where
converts from Islam to another religion could even face the death
sentence.
The former Norwegian premier said provocative remarks such as the
'axis of evil' - a term used by US President George W. Bush for Iran
and North Korea - and 'wiping out a country from the world map' - a
reference to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks about
Israel - could add fuel to the fire of religious tensions.
There have been unconfirmed reports that high-ranking participants
at the conference were unwilling to meet President Ahmadinejad,
mainly due to his anti-Israeli tirades and his denial of the
Holocaust.
The Iranian government was not pleased with the conference as it
was good propaganda for Khatami and the country's reformist and
moderate wings, especially as he could be a challenger of Ahmadinejad
in the June 12 presidential election.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story