The first International Conference of Islamic World Publishers opened in Tehran on Sunday, Mehr News Agency reported.
Muslim publishers from Islamic and non-Muslim countries are attending the two-day event, which is being held to enhance collaboration among Muslim publishers.
In the opening speech of the conference, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, "The first mission of Islamic world publishers is to critique the Western world."
"The second mission is to produce Islamic products and export them to every place all over the world," he suggested.
"Publishing books and developing scholarship are the two wings of cultural advancement. Writing books and producing ideas and culture and disseminating them is a divine mission," he said.
He also warned against an organized worldwide Islamophobic movement, noting, "This movement not only is anti-Islamic but is also anti-Christian and against the thoughts of Prophet Moses (AS). Actually, this movement is anti-religion."
Ahmadinejad said, "The biggest service to mankind is to introduce the reality of humanity to people. All prophets were sent for this purpose."
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