“Awareness of religious belief or any other faith is vital to the understanding of the Middle East conflict in full.” With these words, the German ‘Die Zeit' weekly highlighted its interview with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said: “If religion did not play any role in the 21 century, which I cannot imagine, then something crucial would be missing.” He said that his Catholic belief helped him play his role as envoy for peace in the Middle East. “You will always find a common denominator between religions,” said Blair, adding: “Awareness of other religions makes you more motivated. I regularly read the Koran everyday,” describing the Prophet Muhammad as an enormous cultural force. However, when asked whether he would convert to Islam, he smiled and said: “Let's not go into this.” In response to a question about Muslims being persecuted, Blair said: “Who persecutes the Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq? We have toppled two dictators and left it up to those two peoples to decide who should rule them through the ballot boxes.” Blair finished by saying: “After all this, still Muslims incite to kill other Muslims. Tell me, who persecutes the Muslims? Is it they, or is it me?”
