Noted Arab scholar and diplomat Dr Clovis Maksoud has said India's unwavering support to the Palestine cause and the Iraqi union in the face of its strategic military alliance with Israel has eroded the political and cultural foundation of the Indo-Arab friendship.

He said the Arab world has time and again subscribed to the Non Aligned Movement and it is the need of the hour that the NAM principles of the 20th century be once again rediscovered in the 21st century to solve global issues for international stability.

On the recent United Nations Development Project report on emerging women empowerment in the Arab world, Dr Maksoud said it is the beginning of a new era for West Asia.

He called upon Muslims to stop fighting among themselves and to uphold the dignity of Islam in the face of external aggression and division. He stressed that Muslim unity is a Christian necessity and a Hindu necessity for global peace.

Dr Maksoud said the failure to create a Palestine state will be the collective humiliation of the Muslim world. In order to liberate Palestine, the Muslim world must rely on its forces, unity and brotherhood.

Dr Maksoud said India should play a responsible role and encourage the Muslim world to develop democracy, unity in diversity, brotherhood, human empowerment, education, technology and to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor in the Arab world.