EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Rabbi David Rosen, a prominent commentator on religious affairs, has said that EU diplomats should start talking to Islamic faith leaders in Egypt in order to keep the revolution on a peaceful path.
Speaking to EUobserver on Monday (31 January) by phone from Israel, which faces a grave security threat from the turbulence in Egypt, Rabbi Rosen welcomed EU engagement but said EU institutions are guilty of “remarkable ignorance” about Arab society in leaving religious leaders out of the diplomatic process.
“If I was speaking to [EU foreign relations chief] Catherine Ashton, I would say: ‘In addition to whatever people you are meeting, make sure you meet with religious leaders, to strengthen relations with enlightened, responsible religious authorities, because if you don’t strengthen that voice, all you are doing is playing into the hands of extremists,” he warned. READ MORE
