Ministries of Endowments, Culture to fight extremism

The Ministries of Endowments and Culture are going to work hand in hand to combat extremism, consolidate a sense of belonging to the nation, and spread the “true Islam.”

In a statement Monday, the Ministry of Endowments said it is coordinating with the Culture Ministry on a joint protocol through which they can tackle such issues through holding seminars, lectures, intellectual and cultural salons hosted by scholars, intellectuals and writers.

Endowments Minister Mohamed Mokhtar and Culture Minister Gaber Asfour agreed that fighting terrorism is a common goal.

The Ministry of Endowments is fighting the “two extremes,” Mokhtar said, trying to eradicate radicalism in the name of religion as well as atheism which is “aimed at shattering the society and threatening its security and stability.”

Last June, the Cabinet announced plans for a campaign to combat atheism that would include officials from the Youth and Endowments Ministry, as well as a team of psychiatrists to form a national strategy to eliminate atheism.

The Endowments Ministry has also taken several measures to tighten its control on mosques under the pretext of fighting extremist ideologies. The ministry has moved to bring all mosques under its umbrella as well as unify Friday sermons. It also closed small neighborhood mosques known as “zawyas.”

In his meeting with Asfour, Mokhtar affirmed that fighting extremism does not at all mean fighting religiosity, and that the best way to do camp down on radicalism is to spread the compassion and tolerance of Islam.

The endowments minister emphasized the need to address the youth in schools, clubs, youth and culture centers and teach them the ideals of Islam that “the extremists tried to hijack and distort over the past years.”