ISTANBUL - The head of Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said on Friday that the U.S. government had instructed the public authorities in the country not to use expressions associating "Islam" with "terrorism" since the assignment of a special envoy to OIC last February.
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu met with U.S. Special Envoy to OIC Sada Cumber in Istanbul on Friday.
Holding a press conference after the meeting, Ihsanoglu said that the U.S. Department of State established a special desk comprising of numerous diplomats and experts all experienced in issues related to the Islam world.
Ihsanoglu said the main goal of such activities was to understand the Islam world better and to strengthen the existing relations.
Commenting on his talks with Cumber, OIC head said they discussed ways to eliminate the misunderstandings and concerns between the Islam world and USA.
Speaking at the press conference, U.S. envoy Cumber said that he held talks in 22 countries since his assignment by the U.S. President George W. Bush 5 months ago.
Cumber said he had seen during such talks that the argument of "clash of civilizations" was not true and the current situation was rather a "war of ignorances".
He also said that Turkey had a great role in establishing dialogue thanks to its important position as a bridge between different cultures and civilizations.
(DO-CE)
(DIP)