Amalgam Between Islam and Terrorism is Unacceptable, Says President Wade

President of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade underlined in Dakar Wednesday that the "dangerous amalgam that some make between Islam and terrorism is unacceptable."

Islam is the only religion where the greeting word means peace (Salam), president Wade said Wednesday at the opening of the African anti-terrorism summit.

Those who preach violence have not read the Koran thoroughly, President Wade said. He explained his initiative to invite his African peers to look into and adopt an African anti-terrorism pact by the slowness of the procedures of the Organization of the African Unity (OAU), which are no longer keeping pace with the rapidity of our century, responding thus to some participating delegates who said mechanisms and texts, including the African convention on the prevention of and struggle against terrorism, already exist.

He recalled that the African convention was ratified only by three countries and said an operational pact against terrorism, adapted to current circumstances is most necessary, calling for the adoption of simple mechanisms and efficient implements.

President Wade then underlined that there are two major problems that require a settlement, otherwise no lasting peace would be possible. These problems are Africa's underdevelopment and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said, adding that the United States alone is indeed able to put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the already secured backing of the international community.

He insisted that any settlement to this conflict goes through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within internationally recognized borders.

The summit that carried on its debates behind closed doors is to wind up this afternoon by the adoption of the Dakar Declaration.