JEDDAH (SAUDI ARABIA), December 7 (RIA Novosti, Pavel Davydov) - Russia fully supports the position taken by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on the fight against terrorism, the leader of the Russian delegation to the organization's third extraordinary summit said Wednesday.

Kamil Iskhakov said the battle against terrorism as well as against attempts to identify it with Islam dominated the agenda of the two-day forum, which had opened Wednesday morning in the holy city of Mecca.

The summit participants will discuss how the OIC could stop Islamic leaders from preaching extremism while at the same time help protect Islam against outside attacks, the Russian official said.

Iskhakov said Moscow shared the Muslim world's concern that terrorists exploited Islam to achieve their political ends, thus marring the religion's image in the eyes of the global community. "We are against the unfair association of Islam - a religion of grace, tolerance and justice - with terrorism. Terrorism is beyond religion and ethnicity," he said.

Delegates from 56 member countries are attending the OIC's Mecca summit. Russia holds observer status in the organization.