KUN0017 4 GEN 0216 KUWAIT /KUNA-ETC8 CUL-GERMANY-KUWAIT-DIALOGUE Kuwait plays significant role in dialogue between civilizations- German diplomat BERLIN, April 6 (KUNA) -- German delegate for Islamic affairs and head of the Mideast department at the German foreign ministry Gunther Mulack said Kuwait plays a significant role in the dialogue between western and eastern civilizations. In statements to KUNA on the sidelines of a seminar on cultural dialogue between the west and the Islamic world at the German institute of foreign cultural relations, IFA, he expressed satisfaction on the spread of awareness and cultural and scientific institutions in Kuwait. Kuwait is highly developed in that area and having such extensive facilities makes the country influential in bolstering multilateral cultural cooperation with the Arab world and the west, Mulack who was a German ambassador in Kuwait in the nineties said. Islam is the "meeting point for all religions and civilizations," he said adding that it is a religion of tolerance that has nothing to do with terrorism and violence. He recalled the scientific contributions of the Islamic civilization to Europe when the latter was still living in the dark ages and the transfer of new information to Europe through Muslim thinkers and intellectuals. -- Furthermore, the Secretary General of the German institute of foreign relations Kurt Maass told KUNA that the seminar urges both sides (the east and the west) to listen and to understand each other. It is important to let go of the burdens of the past and of any misunderstandings between civilizations and to have a new fruitful start that promotes tolerance and dialogue between the two sides, he added. He stressed the importance of establishing joint scientific and cultural institutions to promote cooperation especially in education, curriculum and in the eradication of poverty in the Islamic world. The seminar discusses a report compiled by six intellectuals from countries strongly influenced by Islam, namely Egypt, the Palestinian Territories, Malaysia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syria and Pakistan. The report addresses the historical roots of the confrontation between the West and the Islamic world, identifies stereotypes and prejudices, and draws a line through to the causes and effects of the September 11 attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. (end) sh.bn