Intellectual forum seen as a first step to deal to image of Arab states and Islam

Participants to the Arab Intellectual Forum expressed concern about the attempts by some circles to defame the position of Arabs and their civilization.

They condemned the heinous attacks that shook the United States on September 11 and killed innocent people.

They stressed the importance of distinction between terrorism and the resistance against occupation.

Wrapping up proceedings Tuesday at the Arab League premises, the conference on dialogue among civilizations issued a statement in which participants stressed the necessity to respect cultural diversity as a means to enable man to adapt and innovate.

The conferees underlined that terrorism had neither religion nor country and that both the Islamic and Western civilizations should cooperate to eliminate it.

They expressed alarm over the skepticism and incitement attempts made by some foreign circles to undermine the Arab's civilization history and human role.

The participants considered the get-together's declaration as the first step on a long road to put the Arab-Islamic culture in its right place among other cultures.