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Istanbul - Throughout years, Moroccans have nurtured a capacity that enables them to transcend cleavages and integrate in other contests without losing their originality, Morocco's Islamic Affairs Minister, Ahmed Toufiq said Tuesday.

This capacity, which is recognized by everyone, has put the north African kingdom "at the centre of the history of dialogue among civilisations," Toufiq said at the 2nd UN Forum on the Alliance of Civilisations held in the Turkish city.

He said the reference and example that inspire the idea of the Alliance of Civilisations is none but the "Andalusian era where dialogue of civilisations was a genuine historical reality."

Today, "when we recall the Andalusian era and the coexistence of religions and cultures that has marked it, we find that Morocco was at the heart of this historical period where dialogue and openness were flourishing," he said.

He stressed that the idea of the Alliance is important, adding that the Istanbul Forum has brought up again the “problem of interference between the religious and the political.”

While some see that solving political conflicts and tensions goes through cultural dialogue, others argue that settling political disputes would lead to the establishment of a real intercultural dialogue, the minister noted.

Toufiq who spoke, Tuesday, at a panel on Muslims’ contributions in Europe, recalled the kingdom’s actions to help the Moroccan Muslims living in Europe “to better represent the Moroccan culture, while contributing to enriching the local culture.”

The north African country is providing a multi-faceted training that includes teaching such languages as Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, in addition to a solid training in theology, before Moroccan students pursue their studies abroad.

Toufiq is leading a large delegation of officials and academics to the Istanbul meeting, which gathers over 80 countries and about twenty NGOs.

The Alliance of Civilisations was initiated in 2005 by Spain and Turkey, and supported by the UN. It aims to overcome divisions, prejudices and misunderstandings among cultures.

Morocco is among a 30-member Group of Friends that back the alliance.