The World Council of Churches along with some Christian world communions, the World Evangelical Alliance and the Roman Catholic Church are expecting some 50 church leaders and experts at a high-level Christian-Muslim dialogue in Switzerland.

Christian and Muslim groups are urging a peaceful resolution following attacks allegedly by groups linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao in the Philippines, and retaliation by government troops.

Dialogue is “the best way for mutual understanding and cooperation in human relations as well as in peaceful coexistence among nations,” said the final communiqué issued by the recent Madrid conference on inter-faith relations.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has described his private meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican earlier this week as "friendly and informal". They talked for an hour, especially about Christian-Muslim relations.