Blair: Extremism can be prevented by knowledge

Tony Blair warned against the "perversion of religious faith" by extremists when he opened a summit of Muslim and Christian leaders.

At the start of a two-day conference of world religious leaders hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, the Prime Minister called for a "globalisation of knowledge and understanding" that would undermine the extremes of all religions.

Nearly 40 delegates from Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East assembled at Lambeth Palace for the conference, which was organised by Dr Carey to defuse tensions between the Muslim and Christian worlds after the 11 September terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan.

Standing between Dr Carey and the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mustafa Ceric, Mr Blair said all religions had a tendency towards extremism, as demonstrated recently in Northern Ireland by the murder of the Catholic postman Daniel McColgan.

But extremists could be stopped by greater understanding, Mr Blair said. "One of the things that puts them on the defensive and moderates on the offensive is greater understanding between faiths. What also needs to be globalised is knowledge and understanding.

"It is knowledge that helps people realise what they have in common, it's knowledge and understanding that brings people together rather than sets them apart."

Mr Blair said the conference had to be more than just a "dialogue between experts". It had to be echoed in communities where people did not always understand the faith and culture of their neighbours. If they did they would realise they had much in common. "When warped or perverted, religious faith can be dangerous, but when true to its real values it can be immensely liberating."

Dr Carey was joined at the conference by one of the favourites to succeed him as Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester

Dr Carey hoped the event would overcome obstacles to understanding between religions. "That will mean trying to help our own faith communities overcome suspicion and hatred, and at times hatred and intolerance. We all recognise our responsibilities as religious leaders and scholars to help our communities live together in ways which do not suppress our own identities but open us up to the riches which the other offers," he said.

There was a "fresh sense of urgency" about challenging those who claimed a religious justification for evil and hatred, he said. "There are many around us who believe that the world would be better off without faith and all its apparent capacity to generate division, hatred and violence.

"We must play our part in trying to ensure that the wider world may reap the best, not the worst, of what our faiths have to offer."

Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan called for the creation of a multidenominational peace corps. "Culture and understanding is the key. We cannot continue to have a situation where only after there is violence that we ask what is happening," he said.