Muslim leaders will gather in the holy city of Mecca in December for a summit called by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to address rifts between Islamic nations, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference said. The 56-nation group said in a statement on its Web site, dated Sunday, that the meeting would take place on December 7-8.

It follows an emergency summit in Malaysia last year to tackle anger in the Islamic world over US policies in the Middle East. That meeting called for a greater role to be given to the United Nations in Iraq and in Palestinian territories.

King Abdullah first proposed this year's summit in January when he invited Muslim leaders to meet to overcome what he said were divisions in the Islamic world and challenges facing Muslims.

The OIC statement said foreign ministers would meet on the eve of the summit, which would be addressed by the Saudi monarch.

Copyright Reuters, 2005