Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Islamic community leaders have agreed to join forces to combat terrorism.
Following a meeting Tuesday in Canberra with 14 moderate Muslim leaders, Mr. Howard said there was a unanimous commitment by participants to cooperate in addressing any terrorist threat that may arise.
Among those attending the meeting was Ameer Ali, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. He said the focus of the conference was to find ways to keep extremist views from harming the country.
Mr. Howard has been criticized for not including more radical Islamic leaders in the meeting. He said he did not want to give the extremists a platform.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.