CAIRO: Since assuming the role of Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, has worked to establish himself not as a defender of one faith, but rather, the "defender of faiths . On Monday, the British royal and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will embark on a two week journey that includes a five-day stop in Egypt, as well as visits to Saudi Arabia and India. While the Prince is not considered a policy maker with regard to issues that have strained relations with the West in recent years, his visit holds more of a cultural bearing. Since the Sept. 11th attacks on New York and Washington, Islam has been at the forefront of global criticism with fingers often pointing at Arab regimes that permit terrorists to use their countries as breeding grounds. In Europe, talks of equality for Muslims had been a point of contention long before terrorism was making daily headlines. This drew international attention after a ruling by the French National Assembly to ban hijab (headscarf) in schools. Months later, riots broke out around the outskirts of the French capital as young North African immigrants turned their inopportunity into public protest. Muslims worldwide criticized the French government for reacting hastily to the violence without taking the time to really listen to the troubles of those frustrated protestors. Questions regarding Europe's forbearance and sensitivity toward immigrant Muslim communities were further cast into doubt following the publication of a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed in an independent Danish newspaper last September. Islam condemns any depiction of the Prophet as it is viewed as a form of idolatry. The cartoon sparked widespread violence worldwide which has only just begun to taper off. Prince Charles will spend the first two days of his trip at Al-Azhar, Egypt's leading Islamic institution, where he is expected to address the cartoon as well as religious sensitivity and issues regarding free press. "This will certainly be a good opportunity to identify problems and avenues with regard to Muslim non-Muslim relations, notes Mohammed El-Sayed Said, deputy director of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. "He may also shed light on cultural and religions systems in the world, particularly in the aftermath of the cartoon stuff. Last November, Prince Charles traveled to Washington where he voiced personal concerns over America's "confrontational approach to dealing with Muslim countries. The Prince first conveyed this sentiment publicly shortly after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. In a meeting with Muslim leaders in London, Prince Charles was quoted as telling the group, "I find the language and rhetoric coming from America too confrontational. Prior to his visit to the United States, a senior aide to Prince Charles reiterated the Prince's commitment to fostering greater cultural tolerance. The Prince has never promoted political messages around religion, his spokesman said. "He has simply said that he wants a greater tolerance and understanding of each others religion, which will in turn, promote better relations between faiths. With the highest number of troops deployed in Iraq after the United States, some say the United Kingdom has tarnished its image, while public opinion in Britain with regard to the war continues to slip. In a Populus poll taken last month, 64 percent of Britons continue to think that the March 2003 invasion was a mistake. More than 100 British troops have been killed in Iraq since the start of the war. The UK follows Italy's lead with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi hosting President Hosni Mubarak last week in Rome. He announced in January that Italy s entire force of some 2,600 soldiers would be pulled out by the end of this year. This week, the United States launched a fresh air offensive targeting insurgents near the city of Samarra. The latest attack comes as British Defense Secretary John Reid announced that roughly 10 percent of Britain s 8,000 troops stationed in southern Iraq will be withdrawn by May, citing the progress made by Iraqi forces. "No one expected the British to take this approach with regard to Iraq, says Said. "I think most of the people assume the British are smarter: more sensitive to the region s culture and its problems. Ultimately their recent choices reflected badly on British-Arab relations.
