Riyadh - The Islamic conference on interfaith-dialogue held in the Muslim holy city of Mecca ended Friday with a recommendation from participants to establish King Abdullah's international centre for bridging the gaps between civilizations.

The centre would aim to promote a culture of dialogue between people of different religious and cultural backgrounds, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

During the three-day conference, researchers stressed the importance of continued active participation in various symposia and meetings that could have a positive impact in spreading a culture of dialogue and correcting misconceptions about Islam.

In the opening session on Wednesday, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia criticized extremists saying they posed a challenge to Muslims with their "narrow-mindedness" and "ignorance."

Abdullah told 500 Muslim religious scholars, intellectuals and media figures they should let the world know that Muslims were a "voice of justice and human and moral values."

The Islamic world has to deal with major challenges created by Muslims advocating extremism and intolerance, which are anathema to the spirit of Islam, the king said. (dpa)