"Our worst enemy is ignorance of Islam. Muslims need to work together," Imam Yahya said when asked about the present divisions among Muslims.

Talking to UNB at the Victoria Park (Bahadur Shah Park) Jame Masjid in the old city at noon, he said poverty is one of the worst problems in the world, including in Muslim countries.

Asked about his mission to Bangladesh, Imam Yahya, who is the Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University, the first American University to hire a full-time Muslim cleric, said he wants to build a link between America and Bangladesh and the Muslims of the two countries.

"Besides, my visit here is an attempt to clarify to Bangladeshi people that American Muslims are peacefully performing Islam," he added.

Imam Yahya said unlike Bangladesh, where majority Muslims belong to one 'majhab' Hanafi, in America there are many 'majhabs' (school of thought) where Shiite and Sunni work together with a common objective to do good for all people.

"We are not divided and pray in the same mosque together," he added.

After Juma' prayers at the Victoria Park Jame Masjid, Imam Yahya delivered a short speech in Arabic while Khatib of the mosque Mufti Aminul Huq translated it into Bengali.

He said the number of Muslims in USA is now eight million,

the number of mosques now stands at 2,500 while the number of Madrasa is 500.

Imam Yahya, who holds a Master's degree in Comparative Religion from Hartford Seminary, said after September 11, 2001 American Muslims had thought that Islam would face disastrous consequence there, but that apprehension has gone and the number of Muslim is increasing remarkably.

Imam Yahya, who arrived here on Thursday, will visit Chittagong and Rajshahi before he leaves for Calcutta on March 7.