JERUSALEM -- Last week, an amazingly colorful array of Arab princes and Muslim clerics came together with representatives of the world's major faiths in the Spanish Royal El Prado Palace in Madrid. While the Western media generally failed to appreciate the magnitude of the event, the Arab media understood how important it really was. Not only was this the first international multi-faith conference ever initiated by an Arab Muslim leader, it was inaugurated by the king of the Muslim world's heartland, Saudi Arabia, where the most conservative Muslim outlook prevails.

US television evangelist Pat Robertson's claim that Ariel Sharon's stroke was an act of God has triggered a bout of soul-searching in Israel about the Jewish state's relationship with right-wing Christians.

Dealing a blow to Israeli efforts to influence the future of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land, clergymen ended months of leadership paralysis on August 13 by electing a new head opposed by the Jewish State.

Jordan's King Abdullah said on Thursday Israel must give up its claim to Arab East Jerusalem and implement U.N. resolutions for the return of Palestinian refugees if it wanted permanent peace in the Middle East.