Mohammad Khatami is to visit Australia

Ex-Iranian leader to speak at uni faith forumThe Australian Reports: FORMER Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has accepted an invitation from Melbourne University to headline an interfaith conference in June to discuss the Middle East conflict.

Mr Khatami will be the first former or current Iranian head of state to visit Australia.

The 64-year-old leader - who completed his second term as the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2005 - has been invited to deliver a keynote speech at the annual Globalisation for the Common Good conference, which will be hosted by Melbourne University.

Conference organisers last night told The Weekend Australian Mr Khatami was expected in Melbourne for the five-day event. "He has accepted an invitation," conference co-convener Ruwan Palapathwala said. "He has told us that he is coming."

Dr Palapathwala said the former president was invited because he was considered a moderate but respected voice in the Middle Eastern debate. "We saw him as the most prominent moderate speaker who can make a significant contribution about the conflict in the Middle East and seeing the conflict as a conflict of civilisation."

It is understood the Rudd Government was yet to schedule any formal appointments with Mr Khatami.

However, it would be remarkable if the former president of so powerful and important a nation as Iran were not seen by at least the Foreign Minister, and perhaps the Prime Minister. Iran, and concern about its apparent efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, remain at the top of the international security agenda.

Conference manager at Melbourne University's Trinity College, Mark Gordon, said at least 100 senior religious leaders from around the world from denominations including Islam, Judaism and Hinduism were expected to attend the seventh annual event was launched by Britain's Oxford University in 2002. He said several leaders had already registered.

Mr Khatami was the hope of the international community within Iranian politics. He was succeeded by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who's been openly hostile towards the West and called for the destruction of Israel.

Mr Khatami was seen as a moderate eager to liberalise life for ordinary Iranians and who was open to dialogue with the West, especially the US.

On its website, the international five-day conference, to be held in Australia for the first time between June 30 and July 4, lists among its objectives, "in-depth discussions on the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions."

Khatami: no contradictions between Islam and democracy

TEHRAN, April. 14 (ISNA)-There are no contradictions between Islam and democracy and the broad meaning of democracy should not be confined to its definition by the West, said Iranians’ former president Mohammad Khatami.

Interviewed with the Spanish El Periodico he noted the idea that Islam is against democracy is false and incorrect.

Current director of the Center for Dialogue among Cultures and Civilizations emphasized the world is now ready for negotiations more than any other time. Khatami added he was optimist that the human society would take the path of dialogue.

“We have witnessed wars, hostilities and terrorism during the last decade and that has led human beings to come up with this conclusion that dialogue is the answer for all these problems.”

He said civilizations never fight with each other adding “wars have always happened due to political and economic reasons and this is people who try to impose their dominance on others and politicians who want war.”

Meanwhile Khatami invited world’s Muslims and western countries to dialogue and asserted “the emergence of Islamic extremists is in fact a reaction to the colonialism of western countries in the world.”

The fire between the dominant injustice of international relations and violent of extremists should be put off, he added.