The king of Saudi Arabia opened an interfaith conference by calling Islam a religion of tolerance and moderation.
King Abdullah organized the conference, which runs Wednesday to Friday, in Madrid.
A number of Jewish leaders, mostly from the United States and England, were among the nearly 300 religious figures in attendance. No Israeli or Palestinian leaders were invited.
Rabbi Arthur Schneier, the leader of the Park East Synagogue in New York who hosted Pope Benedict XVI in April, was the only rabbi scheduled to address the gathering. Schneier was slated to speak on the topic of dialogue in Judaism Wednesday evening.
Rabbi Claudio Epelman, the secretary-general of the Latin American Jewish Congress, was scheduled to chair a conference session Thursday.
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