Call for new strategy to spread spirit of tolerance

Delegates also called for sustainable development programs to create a secure and stable environment for young people to protect them from extremist ideas.

The conference in New York, organised by the Muslim World League, recommended the establishment of an Islamic-American communication forum to bolster ideological, cultural and scientific communication between the Islamic and American peoples.

It also called for coordination between research organizations, centers, universities and media institutions to counter deviant ideas and protect communities from their negative impact.

Delegates emphasized the importance of spreading the culture of the Islamic-Western co-existence, the encouragement of research and studies focusing on effective communication, and resistance to Islamophobia. They also urged the media to spread the culture of peace and understanding, adopt credibility and objectivity, and abstain from promoting the culture of violence and hatred or producing content fomenting religious, ideological or sectarian conflict.

The two-day conference was attended by scholars, thinkers and religious, political and social leaders from all parts of the world. It concluded on Sunday.

NEW YORK: A major conference on cultural communication between the US and the Muslim world has called for a longterm strategy to spread the spirit of tolerance and equality between peoples.