Saudi Arabia inter-faith conference drawing influential religious leaders

Christians, Jews and Muslims will gather in Madrid later this month for could be one of the highest profile inter-faith meetings in recorded history.

The three-day conference, hosted by Saudi Arabia, aims to highlight the shared heritage of the leaders as children of Abraham and lists many prominent figures of faith including evangelist Franklin Graham, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, and former Vice President Al Gore.

Also amongst the 200 prominent religious leaders will be major Jewish leaders including Rabbi David Rosen, the former chief rabbi of Ireland and head of the inter-faith committee of the American Jewish Committee.

Although Israel and Saudi Arabia do not currently have formal diplomatic ties, Rosen said that he believes the conference will do much to promote peace and understanding.

"I think that will be a great achievement," he told The Associated Press.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said he hopes that the conference will help facilitate relations between the world's three major religions while helping to improve the world's perception of Islam.

The conference, which will be hosted in Madrid, will be held July 16-18.