The UAE urged member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to take action to stop the spread of Islamophobia in the West, a parliamentary leader said yesterday.

“Hope” is the first lesson the Arab street is learning through the Tunisian experience. For decades, the Arab peoples have been depressed, felt helpless and had to live with the injustices, the failures and repressions of their post-colonial states. For the first time, an Arab people, Tunisians, have won against one of their regimes. The event had an echo among all Arab peoples. Many of them felt this strengthened their trust in themselves and their hope in the future.

Katie Couric's recent comments recommending a Muslim Cosby show to combat anti-Muslim bigotry has been decried by some as a naïve, simplistic remedy for the festering sore of Islamophobia in America. However...authentic and accessible American Muslim narratives can emerge as popular, effective tools of cultural diplomacy in helping bridge the divides between Muslim Communities and the U.S.

The Swiss Islamic Shura Central Council is offering a series of workshops and seminars that began 8 January in Zurich to help Muslims learn to work with media to ensure better and fairer presentations of Muslims and Islam.

The Swiss Islamic Shura Central Council organizes this month seminars and workshops in inter-cultural communication and media praxis. Oscar Bergamin, Chief of presidential Staff and responsible for Public Diplomacy of the Council is leading these Muslim focused trainings.

Germany has opened a cultural exhibition in Munich in an attempt to introduce the rich Iranian civilization as well as Persian arts and culture. Iran, Land of Prayers was opened as part of the 2010 Islamic Art Expo at Munich's Villa Stuck Museum which will run until February 15, 2011.

President Pratibha Patil, who is on a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Wednesday inaugurated the Indian Islamic Centre (IIC) here and said the centre will prove to be a cultural bridge between the two countries.