AL JAZEERA: George Bush, the US president, has challenged Saudi Arabia to overturn its ban on apostasy - the changing of a person's religion - at a United Nations interfaith conference in New York.
Bush called on the conservative Muslim kingdom to change its attitudes towards the practise that is strictly outlawed in Saudi Arabia and punishable by death.
Bush said his own Christian faith had sustained him throughout many challenges during his presidency.
"We may profess differ [sic] creeds and worship in different places, but our faith leads us to common values," he said.
However, the outgoing US president was unapologetic about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying that his country was "protecting" Muslims.
"Through the generations, our nation has helped defend the religious liberty of others - from liberating the concentration camps of Europe, to protecting Muslims in places like Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq," Bush said.
The UN has described the two-day conference in New York, which is sponsored by Saudi Arabia, as being designed to bridge differences between religions and cultures. >>> | November 13, 2008
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