Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
March 3 2007

US Muslim leader to visit Turkey

Ankara, 3 March: American Muslim leader Wallace Deen Muhammad will
pay a visit to Turkey on 6 March.

Egemen Bagis, an MP from Justice and Development Party (AKP) and
chairman of Turkey-USA Interparliamentary Friendship Group, said that
Wallace Deen Muhammad, whom he describes as the "most important
Muslim leader in USA", will come to Turkey upon his invitation.

Stressing that USA was one of the most important crossroads for the
"Alliance of Civilizations" initiative led by Turkey, Bagis said
visit of Muhammad, who is the religious leader of nearly 2.5 million
black Muslims in USA, mainly aimed at the improvement of Turkey-USA
relations, as well as the establishment of a closer contact and
cooperation between the Turkish people in USA and Muslim Americans.

Bagis also stated that they expected a remarkable contribution from
Muhammad to their efforts which aimed to raise the voice of the
Turkish people in USA, especially nowadays, while they were
struggling against the so-called genocide allegations of the Armenian
lobby.

Wallace Deen Muhammad will hold talks with representatives of
education, language, diplomacy, politics and business circles during
his three-day visit to Turkey, Bagis added.