Source: The Christian Post
On February 26, 2005 The Christian Post reported, "A 3-day high profile musical celebration will take place in Morocco, part of the Arab-Muslim world. Friendship Fest will feature 8-12 well-known Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) bands and 3-4 Contemporary and Traditional Moroccan music groups. The free event is anticipated to draw over 50,000 daily. Three Christian leaders, Creation Fest co-founder, Harry Thomas, National Association of Evangelicals, Reverend Richard Cizik, and the National Clergy Council, Rev. Rob Schenck, have teamed up with Marrakech Wali (Governor) Mohamed Hassad and Regional President Abdelali Doumou to bring the world a highly anticipated cultural exchange between Muslims and Christians...To be held in Marrakech,...a major part of the event will be dialogues which are to take place simultaneously with the music festival, bringing together Christian and Muslim leaders from around the world. In addition, King Mohammed VI will participate...According NAE's press release, the goals of Friendship Fest are to make 'use of the universal language of music to bridge cultures and make friends' and 'to set a good example of religious tolerance by engaging in respectful dialogue.' More importantly, it is 'to show that Christians and Muslims can be friends and live together in peace.'"