BIRMINGHAM/ HOLY MAKKA: European Union Presidency, Britain strongly supported the call by the Muslim leaders, at the OIC third extraordinary summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in the holy city of Makkah, for a forward-looking vision for the Muslim world.

"The whole international community stands with them in their staunch rejection of those who distort the noble faith of Islam. We join them in celebrating the values of Islamic civilisation. Their values are our values.

"We share their unequivocal condemnation of terrorism and their determination to combat it. "

The summit wrapped up its work on Thursday by issuing a final communiqué which urged Muslim states to fight terrorism with every possible means and develop education curriculums to promote tolerance and understanding.

As for political issues, it stressed the Palestinian issue as the central concern and called on Israeli forces to withdraw from Palestinian lands in addition to the Syrian Golan Heights and Lebanese lands.

Moreover, the summit stressed the importance of preserving Jerusalem's Islamic and historic identity.

On the Iraqi situation, it lauded the Iraqi national reconciliation conference, denounced terrorism operations carried out against Iraqi people, affirmed its support for the political process and the reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

The summit also expressed support for the people of Kashmir, Turkish Cypriots, the Somali government and the Sudanese peace agreement.

It pledged to counter any foreign threats against any member states and stressed the importance of reforming the OIC as well as proposing the establishment of an independent Islamic human rights institution to monitor human rights in OIC member states.