Iran's president indirectly criticizes Taliban regime

Khatami

SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey (CNN) -- Saying that innocent women, men and children are being subjected "to blind wrath, misnamed as a holy war," Iranian President Mohammad Khatami Friday delivered indirect criticism of the the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Speaking at a United Nations-sponsored symposium at Seton Hall University, Khatami said that "an obscure misrepresentation of Islam terrorizes the world."

He called for a worldwide coalition of "compassion and violence, as opposed to violence and terror."

The symposium was the culmination of the U.N.'s Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, a symposium to foster discourse and understanding between nations. It was created following a speech Khatami delivered at the U.N.'s opening session in September 1998.

As part of Friday's program, the Iranian leader presented awards and certificates to seven college students from around the world. The students were winners of an international essay contest to find a peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Khatami was also presented with a crystal globe, signifying the beauty and fragility of peace in the world.