RIGA, Latvia, March 25, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The first centre promoting Arab culture in the Baltic states is to be opened in the Latvian capital, Riga.

"The aims of the centre will be to dispel commonly held stereotypes about the Arab world and to educate the Baltic public about the richness and diversity of Arab life," Center Director Houssam Abou Merhi, who has lived in Latvia for 13 years, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday, March 24.

He said that there are not that many Arabs in Latvia or in the Baltics in general, but there are some misinformation about Arabs in the media.

"We want to show that Arabs are diverse, not just Muslims, but of different religions including Christian and Jewish," he noted.

The centre, which is sponsored by Arab non-governmental organizations, will also offer language courses and translation services, as well as classes related to Arab culture.

The centre is due to open in one month. It was presented Friday as Latvia marked European anti-racism week.

The population is mostly Christian in Latvia with the largest section being Lutheran with smaller percentages of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, according to the CIA World Factbook.

The Dievturi religion, which has historical roots based on pre-Christian era mythology, also has followers in Latvia.

There is not exact census of Jews and Muslims in the northern European country.

The Baltic states are three specific countries: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All three countries were controlled by Soviet Union in 1940-1941 and 1944(1945)-1991.

The trio joined the expanding European Union in 2004.

Source : http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-03/25/article03.shtml