RIYADH, 23 February 2005 — Following an initiative from Crown Prince Abdullah, Senegal will host an OIC summit and a Muslim-Christian dialogue in December next year.

Senegal’s President Maitre Abdoulaye Wade gave this information to Arab News after opening Senegal’s new embassy in the Diplomatic Quarter here on Monday night. Senegal is among several African and other countries that have moved to the DQ.

The president said the Muslim-Christian dialogue will be held immediately following the summit as part of its effort to promote better understanding between Muslims and Christians. These inter-faith relations took a knock in the wake of Sept. 11 that has seen Westerners being targeted by terrorist groups both in Western countries and in the Middle East.

President Wade said besides the Kingdom, other Arab countries have also pledged their support for the OIC conference. Senegal, he pointed out, has a strong case for organizing the event, since 95 percent of its population is Muslim and had a Christian as the president of Senegal for 12 years.

“We want to send across the message of Islam as a religion of peace and to correct its distorted image. It will be a rare summit involving the heads of states that will come to Dakar for the Islamic conference,” he said. He added that one of the talking points could also include the pro-Israeli agenda of the US — seen by many as fueling anti-US sentiments.

In reply to a question, the Senegalese president said he decided to organize the Muslim-Christian summit only after receiving a letter from Prince Abdullah. “Otherwise, I would not have taken this initiative.”