FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Washington DC - 6/14/2004) - ISCA Chairman Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani and Dr. Hedieh Mirahmadi, Executive Director of the World Organization for Resource Development and Education (WORDE), met yesterday with His Excellency Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan.

His Excellency President Karzai, who is currently visiting the United States, held an animated discussion with ISCA's chairman. They agreed on the importance of Sufism as a bulwark against religious extremism in the region. Shaykh Kabbani invited President Karzai to be the keynote speaker at the WORDE conference of leaders and Islamic scholars to be held in Southeast Asia later this year.

President Karzai presented the shaykh with the gift of an elegant Afghan handmade rug. The possibility of a visit to Afghanistan by the shaykh was discussed.

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