(Reuters/Ha'aretz) A Vatican-led conference in Qatar on dialogue with Muslims ended with bickering over whether to allow Jews to take part in future meetings, because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Emir of the Gulf state, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, said in a speech delivered on his behalf on Thursday that Jews should also take part: "Perhaps it would be worthwhile widening next year's seminar to an Islamic-Christian-Jewish dialogue." But Sheikh Abdel-Karim al-Kahlout, the Mufti of Gaza, and Bishop Basilious Nassour, a Syrian representative of the Greek Orthodox Church, disagreed on Saturday. "We at the Patriarchy of Antioch reject the principle of dialogue with Jews before all the inhabitants of Palestine regain their rights," Nassour said.
2004-06-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive