A common European platform based on inclusivity and anti-racism was established at a conference of Muslim and Jewish organisations in Brussels, Beligium, last week. The ain is to combat animosity and encourage dialogue.

Far from being a crusader, St George of Lydda was a defender of the powerless, says Garth Hewitt. He is a figure for Muslims, Jews, Christians - and for the church in Palestine.

Simon Barrow gives an overview of three scholarly contributions by Kenneth Cragg, perhaps the world's leading interpreter of the relations between the Semitic faiths and their encounters with Western culture.

New government guidelines will prohibit te wearing of full-face veils in schools where they restrict teaching and social interaction. But they back consideration for religious dress sensibilities.

Defying perceptions of widening division between the two faiths, Muslims have joined an Indian sit-in organized by Christians.

Following police action in a high profile suspected UK terror case last week, one of Birmingham's senior Muslim leaders, Dr Mohammad Naseem, chair of the city's Central Mosque, has said that Muslims in Britain are being labelled as a threat in a way that has parallels with the treatment of Jews under Hitler.

Describing the past six months as "a disaster for Palestinians and indeed the whole Middle East," the leading Lutheran bishop in Jerusalem has urged US Christians to join their Middle East brothers and sisters and say they are "fed up" with stigmatization, bloodshed, hatred and occupation affecting both Israelis and Palestinians.

Catholic Bishops in India have appealed for justice for the country's Muslim population as it faces increasing pressure from nationalists, alongside Christians. They have also highlighted the plight of Dalits (formerly known as 'untouchables') and other minority communities.

Pope Benedict XVI says he is looking to increased cooperation between Christians, and a stepped-up dialogue with Muslims, following his four-day visit to Turkey - writes Luigi Sandri for Ecumenical News International.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is to host the inaugural meeting and formal launch tomorrow of a new Christian-Muslim Forum in the UK.