The conference was held from June 7-9 in Cairo, Egypt
From 7 to 9 June 2022, the Brussels International Center participated at the first ever International Conference on Religious Extremism titled “Religious Extremism: The Intellectual Premises and Counter-Strategies”, which was held under the umbrella of the General Secretariat for fatwa Authorities Worldwide in Cairo, and organized by the Salam Center for Extremism Studies. The event brought together Ministers, Muftis, high level practitioners, analysts and journalists to discuss long-term strategies to prevent and combat violent extremism, especially religious extremism.
This is the first time an event of such a global importance on the topic of religious extremism takes place in Egypt. Such an event also served to enhance BIC’s visibility and credibility as a trusted organization working on violent extremism and radicalization. It also showed how the BIC is expanding its work internationally, in a region of such as importance to the European Union.
Brahim Laytouss, Head of the Department on Violent Extremism and Radicalization (AVERA) highlighted the relevance of the conference:
“This first conference came at the right time. It served to fill the gap in the field of combating religious extremism with the many relevant exchanges between stakeholders and practitioners working on this field. During the three days, we were able to propose new long-term solutions to combating and preventing religious extremism and radicalization.”
The BIC also welcomes the follow up decision to establishing an umbrella gathering of research centers and think-tanks specialized in combating extremism and terrorism. In BIC’s views, this initiative will enhance coordination and cooperation among religious institutions, decision-makers, regional and international research centers. The BIC intends to follow up and continue to work on proposing durable solutions to the issue of violent extremism and radicalization.