Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, on a U.S. visit, has called for a greater dialogue between world religions.
Mr. Khatami told Muslim community leaders at a mosque in the Chicago suburb of Streamwood Saturday there is now an opportunity for people of different faiths to engage in dialogue and cooperation.
Iran's president from 1997 to last year is the most senior Iranian official to tour the United States since 1979 when Iranian radicals seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
Mr. Khatami told the Muslim leaders that people of true faith do not include extremists or terrorists who exploit the name of religion.
His 40-minute speech at the Chicago area mosque focused on Islamic religious themes, and did not comment on Iran's nuclear dispute with the West.
Mr. Khatami arrived in New York Friday at the start of a two-week visit to the U.S. He is due to give a speech at the National Cathedral in Washington Thursday, and will attend a U.N. conference in New York the next day.
The U.N. conference will discuss the "Dialogue of Civilizations," five years after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
