The conference on the resort island of Bali attended by rabbis, Holocaust witnesses and Muslim leaders is styling itself as an "anti-conference of Tehran", where a December 2006 meet cast doubt on the genocide of Jews during World War II, triggering worldwide condemnation.

Chairing the discreetly-organised conference is former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, known as Gus Dur, a moderate Islamic leader known to take courageous positions in Indonesia, where Muslims are known for their tolerance but small hardline groups still hold considerable political sway.

"Although I am a good friend of Mahmud Ahmadinejad, I have to say he is wrong," Gus Dur told the conference, referring to the Iranian president’s dismissal of the Holocaust as a myth.

"He falsified history ... I believe the Holocaust happened," he said.

The former president has been a member of the Tel Aviv-based Shimon Peres Peace Institute since 1984 and has drawn fire for his support for direct trade relations between Indonesia and Israel.

Rabbi Daniel Landes, director of the Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, said that despite Indonesia’s lack of diplomatic relations with Israel, he felt comfortable here.

It is very rare to see rabbis speak in Indonesia -- let alone an Israeli rabbi.

"Since most of the stories of the Holocaust took place in the West, there are not that many natural witnesses within Muslim countries who can say we know the facts to be true," Landes told AFP.

Abraham Cooper, an American rabbi from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said the conference was "a unique opportunity to break the stereotypes that are embedded in the Muslim world."

"Most Muslims in Indonesia do not exactly know what is the Holocaust, except those who studied in the Middle East," said Ahmad Suaedy, executive director of the Wahid Institute, a non-government organisation promoting peaceful Islam.

"Some only know the version (of the Holocaust) from Egyptian or Iranian scholars," he added.

C. Holland Taylor, the chief executive officer of the US-funded Libforall foundation which organised the conference, told AFP that the Hindu-majority island of Bali was chosen as host because it has itself been a victim of extremism. Muslim extremist attacks in Bali in 2002 left 202 people dead.

"This conference is focusing on all forms of violence conducted in the name of religion," he said.

The media were banned from announcing the one-day conference ahead of its opening.

In April, various Indonesian Muslim leaders opposed the attendance of Israeli delegates to the 116th Inter-Parliamentary Union also held on Bali.

The Israelis eventually stayed away, citing security concerns.