When we set up the Alliance of Civilizations last year, we said that it was "intended to respond to the need for a committed effort by the international community – both at the institutional and civil society levels – to bridge divides and overcome prejudice, misconceptions and polarization". We should all be grateful to the Prime Ministers of Spain and Turkey for being prescient in anticipating a vital issue in today's world.
We also said that the Alliance would "aim to address emerging threats emanating from hostile perceptions that foment violence"; and we specifically mentioned "the sense of a widening gap and lack of mutual understanding between Islamic and Western societies".
The passions aroused by the recent publication of insulting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and the reaction to it, show only too clearly that such threats are real, and that the need for a committed effort by the international community is acute.
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