Jeddah The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), represented by Sawt Al-Hikmah (Voice of Wisdom) Center and Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), will jointly hold a conference on the Role of Education in Combating Terrorism and Extremism on April 9-10, with broad participation of stakeholders.
The conference, which will review the experiences of countries in combating extremism and terrorism through revamping education, seeks to develop the coexistence culture through pedagogical systems. It will also provide an opportunity for the participants to analyze and consider the mechanisms many Muslim countries have implemented to develop curricula that firmly establish a culture of tolerance and coexistence, and the role undertaken by the educational institutions in formulating a discourse rooted in the principles of peace, fellowship and confronting violence and extremism.
OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen indicated that the conference takes place at a time when the phenomenon of violent extremism plaguing the Muslim world during the past three decades is on the rise. He stressed the importance to consider the ways in which curricula face the incursion of this phenomenon, which is categorically alien to the Islamic societies.
The OIC chief stated that every act of violence or extremism is the result of a distorted intellectual mindset that has developed and penetrated undetected away from the positive values of modern schools and formal curricula.
It is noteworthy that the Secretary General will deliver the OIC statement during the opening ceremony of the conference, in the presence of academics and stakeholders in the fields of education and combating terrorism and extremism from Muslim countries.
For his part, Secretary-General Advisor in Sawt Al-Hikmah Center Dr. Mohammed Shahim explained that the conference aims “to discuss the role of education in combating terrorism — an intellectual phenomenon that only thought can debunk. The conference will also consider the pioneer experiences of a number of countries that successfully used education to renounce violence and extremism and purify the underlying ideas.”
Source: International Islamic News Agency