IHT Quick Read: March 2

NEWS To the growing outrage of international conservation groups and the embarrassment of Chinese law enforcement agencies, the international ivory trade is booming, with much of the smuggled ivory ends up as statuary and jewelry in Chinese showrooms and private collections. Critics say the Chinese government is not doing enough to stem the illicit ivory trade, which has exploded in the five years since conservationists and governments agreed to a program of limited ivory sales intended to stifle poaching and revive a centuries-old handicraft. In the past year, more than 32,000 elephants have been illegally killed, according to the Born Free Foundation, a wildlife organization, and conservationists say the vast majority of ivory sold in China is of questionable origin. Dan Levin reports from Puzhai, China.

The unemployment rate in the euro zone edged up in January to new record, official data showed Friday, as the ailing European economy continued to weigh on the job market. That, and new data showing a decline in inflation in the euro zone, could prompt the European Central Bank to take steps to stimulate the economy when its Governing Council meets this coming week, analysts said. David Jolly reports from Paris.

Much of Syria’s future rests on General Salim Idris’s success on the battlefield. The leader of the Syrian rebels, he faces the daunting task of forging a cohesive force from the thousands of fractious, fiercely independent rebel brigades arrayed against the still formidable military of President Bashar al-Assad. Neil MacFarquhar reports from Antakya, Turkey.

For Thomas Minder, a decade-long crusade against “fat cats” is coming to a head. The Swiss are set to vote Sunday on whether to adopt his proposal to impose some of the world’s most severe restrictions on executive compensation. The prospect is opposed by the banks and other multinational companies that have long spearheaded Switzerland’s economy, who say the rules will damage the country’s business-friendly climate. Raphael Minder reports from Geneva.

President Obama and Congressional leaders failed on Friday to stop deep, automatic cuts in federal spending that will immediately shrink the size and ambition of government, even as they vowed an end to the rolling fiscal battles that have repeatedly threatened government shutdowns and economic crisis over two years. Michael D. Shear and Jonathan Weisman report from Washington.

ARTS The art scene in Kosovo reflects the country â€" fragmented, young and just beginning to define itself. Countries like Russia, China and Spain do not recognize Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia five years ago. Kosovo’s participation as a country pavilion at one of the world’s premier art events is certain to ruffle some feathers. Ginanne Brownell reports.

SPORTS From the moment last Saturday’s Premier League game between Arsenal and Aston Villa began, goalkeeper Brad Guzan was in constant motion. For Guzan, every moment on the field is golden. He was a backup for most of the past four seasons, a holding pattern that tested his persistence and cost him his place on the United States national team. This season he has finally established himse! lf as Ast! on Villa’s starter, but the journey has been long and hard and, at times, even a little embarrassing. Ravi Ubha reports from London.

Muslims Seek Dialogue With Next Pope

LONDON â€" As the Catholic Church’s cardinal electors gather at the Vatican to choose a new pope, Muslim leaders are urging a revival of the often troubled dialogue between the two faiths.

During the papacy of Benedict XVI, relations between the world’s two largest religions were overshadowed by remarks he made in 2006 that were widely condemned as an attack on Islam.

In a speech at Regensburg University in his native Germany, Benedict quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor as saying, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

In the face of protests from the Muslim world, the Vatican said the Pope’s remarks had been misinterpreted and that he “deeply regretted” that the speech “sounded offensive t the sensibility of Muslim believers.”

For many in the Muslim world, however, the damage was done and the perception persisted that Benedict was hostile to Islam.

Juan Cole, an American commentator on the Middle East, has suggested that although the pope backed down on some of his positions, “Pope Benedict roiled those relationships with needlessly provocative and sometimes offensive statements about Islam and Muslims.”

Despite the Vatican’s efforts to renew the interfaith dialogue by hosting a summit with Muslim scholars, hostilities resumed in 2011 when the Pope condemned alleged discrimination against Egypt’s Coptic Christians in the wake of a church bombing in Alexandria.

Al Azhar University in Cairo, the center of Islamic learning, froze relations with the Vatican in protest.

Following the pope’s decision to step down, Mahmud Azab, an Al-Azhar adviser on interfaith dialogue said, “The resumption of ties with the Vatican hinges on the new atmosphere created by the new Pope. The initiative is now in the Vatican’s hands.”

Mahmoud Ashour, a senior Al Azhar cleric, insisted that “the new Pope must not attack Islam,” according to remarks quoted by the French news agency AFP, and said the two religions should “complete one another, rather than compete.”

A French Muslim leader, meanwhile, has called for a fresh start in the dialogue with a new pope.

In an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel this week, Dalil Boubakeur rector of the Grand Mosque in Paris, said of Benedict, “He was not able to understand Muslims. He had no direct experience with Islam, and he found nothing positive to say about our beliefs.”

Reem Nasr, writing at the Policymic policy debate Web site, this week offered Benedict’s successor a five-point program to bridge the Catholic and Muslim worlds.

These included mutual respect, more papal contacts with Muslim leaders and a greater focus on what the religions had in common.

“There has been a long history of mistrust that can be overcome,” she wrote. “No one should give up just yet.”

Muslims Seek Dialogue With Next Pope

LONDON â€" As the Catholic Church’s cardinal electors gather at the Vatican to choose a new pope, Muslim leaders are urging a revival of the often troubled dialogue between the two faiths.

During the papacy of Benedict XVI, relations between the world’s two largest religions were overshadowed by remarks he made in 2006 that were widely condemned as an attack on Islam.

In a speech at Regensburg University in his native Germany, Benedict quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor as saying, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

In the face of protests from the Muslim world, the Vatican said the Pope’s remarks had been misinterpreted and that he “deeply regretted” that the speech “sounded offensive t the sensibility of Muslim believers.”

For many in the Muslim world, however, the damage was done and the perception persisted that Benedict was hostile to Islam.

Juan Cole, an American commentator on the Middle East, has suggested that although the pope backed down on some of his positions, “Pope Benedict roiled those relationships with needlessly provocative and sometimes offensive statements about Islam and Muslims.”

Despite the Vatican’s efforts to renew the interfaith dialogue by hosting a summit with Muslim scholars, hostilities resumed in 2011 when the Pope condemned alleged discrimination against Egypt’s Coptic Christians in the wake of a church bombing in Alexandria.

Al Azhar University in Cairo, the center of Islamic learning, froze relations with the Vatican in protest.

Following the pope’s decision to step down, Mahmud Azab, an Al-Azhar adviser on interfaith dialogue said, “The resumption of ties with the Vatican hinges on the new atmosphere created by the new Pope. The initiative is now in the Vatican’s hands.”

Mahmoud Ashour, a senior Al Azhar cleric, insisted that “the new Pope must not attack Islam,” according to remarks quoted by the French news agency AFP, and said the two religions should “complete one another, rather than compete.”

A French Muslim leader, meanwhile, has called for a fresh start in the dialogue with a new pope.

In an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel this week, Dalil Boubakeur rector of the Grand Mosque in Paris, said of Benedict, “He was not able to understand Muslims. He had no direct experience with Islam, and he found nothing positive to say about our beliefs.”

Reem Nasr, writing at the Policymic policy debate Web site, this week offered Benedict’s successor a five-point program to bridge the Catholic and Muslim worlds.

These included mutual respect, more papal contacts with Muslim leaders and a greater focus on what the religions had in common.

“There has been a long history of mistrust that can be overcome,” she wrote. “No one should give up just yet.”