Tunis — The 36 th Maghreb Mouled Conference opened on Wednesday in Kairouan.

The Conference which is placed under the high patronage of the President of the Republic coincides this year with the celebration of Kairouan as 2009 Islamic Culture Capital. The Mouled which celebrates the Prophet's birthday, will take place on March 9 th, this year.

In an opening address to the conference, the Minister of religious affairs, Mr Boubaker El Akhzouri stressed the role of Kairouan in the spread of Islam's message as well as the consecration of the Malekite doctrine which preaches the values of moderation, tolerance and encourages exegetic efforts (Ijtihad), while rejecting all kinds of extremism and dogmatism.

He also highlighted Kairouan's role in spreading Islam's message, as well as its culture.

The conference which is entitled " The role of Kairouan in the anchoring and the dissemination of the Malekite rite" will take place between March 4 and 6, 2009, and will witness the participation of several Tunisian, Algerian and Moroccan scholars and researchers.

The Malekite doctrine of Islam, which was anchored in Tunisia thanks to the "El Moudawana", dictated by Ibn El Qacem and written by the Imam Sahnoun, owes much to this book which was studied by generations of theological scholars and which helped shape Tunisia's Muslim identity.