Common cause

A meeting of religious leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and Iran's Islamic government found common cause in opposing the West - whose liberal secular society is seen as the main enemy of their own cultures.

The Russian prelate, Metropolitan Kirill, and Iranian Ayatollah Taskhiri condemned NATO's military campaign against Yugoslavia. The two leaders told reporters they were not teaming up against anyone, but the message was clear: Conservatives of different religious traditions often have more in common with each other than with liberals of the same faith.