An international conference titled \'\'Arab Spring and Peace in the New Middle East: Muslim and Christian Perspectives\'\' conference began in Istanbul on Friday. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is attending the conference organized by Turkish Religious Foundation Centre for Islamic Studies and Marmara University Middle East Research Institution at Le Meridien Hotel in Etiler, Istanbul. Academicians, religious officials and opinion leaders from 19 countries are participating in the conference as Anatolia news agency reports.