President, prime minister, off to Islamic conference

President Elias Hrawi and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri left Beirut on Monday at the head of an eight-man Lebanese delegation to take part in a three-day Islamic conference due to open Tuesday in Tehran.

Hrawi, a Maronite Catholic, is the only non-Muslim head of state taking part in the Eighth summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

The conference, the biggest international event Iran has hosted since the 1979 revolution, will be attended by some 30 heads of state from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Hrawi said Lebanon's presence and active participation in the summit is important.

"Lebanon is an active member of this conference," he told reporters before leaving. He added Muslims and Christians living alongside each other in Lebanon should be "a model" for others to emulate.

Lebanon has 18 officially recognized religious sects. The constitution stipulates power-sharing in government posts; The president must be a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni and the parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim.