(Ha'aretz) David Landau and Lily Galili - The leaders of the Muslim republics of central Asia called on Thursday for the creation of an international "forum for peace and stability." The leaders, conferring with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, included conference host Nursultan Nazarbaev, president of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan president Imomali Rahmonov, Kyrgystan President Askar Akayev, a senior representative of the Turkish government, and a senior aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. "This is the place to build a firewall between Islamic fundamentalism and moderate Islam," said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive director of the Conference of Presidents. "Many of these states have been encroached upon by Islamic fundamentalism operating out of Iran, Afghanistan, and even China," Hoenlein said. "There is a domino threat in the region. If one state falls, its neighbors could go too."
2003-02-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive