Narrowing Islam-West cultural gap

The two-day seminar, to be organized by the Ministry of Higher Education in collaboration with the King Abdul Aziz University, is another major step in support of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s call to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogues as a means to establish world peace.

The discussions on the first day of the seminar today will focus on Arab and Islamic studies at French and European universities. The topic will cover the extent of Arab and Islamic cultures being taught in the universities and institutes of higher learning. It will also discuss intellectual and historical achievements that led to conflicting viewpoints on understanding Arab and Islamic cultures and the emergence of contemporary concepts that did away with the Orientalist approach to understand the Islamic culture.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article614778.ece

'The Funny Indian,' Rajiv Satyal, To Tour India, Spread Message Of Religious Harmony

An Ohio-born standup comedian who bills himself as "The Funny Indian" will find out whether people in his ancestral homeland agree.

Rajiv Satyal, who is Hindu, will tour India with an Indian-American Muslim and one other performer on a Jan. 4-17 trip organized by the U.S. State Department. Their comedy show "Make Chai Not War" will include messages of diversity and religious harmony, with a measure of diplomacy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/28/funny-indian-rajiv-satyal-tours-india_n_1172824.html?ref=interfaith

Muslim TV Counters Islamophobia

Facing growing smear campaigns against the tenets of Islam, a pan Islamic organization has announced its plans to launch a new satellite channel to fight Islamophobia and promote and disseminate the values of true Islam.

“We have a number of important proposals to strengthen Islamic media activities,” Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), told a conference of information ministers from the Islamic world.

http://www.onislam.net/english/news/global/456703-muslim-tv-counters-islamophobia.html

Turkey Calls on Everyone to be Careful About Islamophobia

Turkish president Wednesday called on every one to be careful about Islamophobia.

"If anti-Islam policies are misused for political purposes, they can be dangerous, they can spread and cannot be taken under control," Gul told a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague.

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/134420/turkey-calls-on-everyone-to-be-careful-about-islamophobia.html