Defence

#ReligiousDialogue: Inter-religious dialogue 'to defeat radicalization'

Published

10 years ago

April 22, 2016

How European Muslims deal with radicalization and the role that women can play in countering it and promoting de-radicalization will be debated in a conference to be held by European Parliament President Martin Schulz and Vice President Antonio Tajani on Tuesday 26 April.

Projects on the ground and what to do to confront the phenomenon at national and EU levels will also be assessed with leading-edge experts.

"Terrorism and radicalization must be fought through prevention, monitoring, intelligence-gathering and updated rules and sanctions. But there is one tool which beats radicalization before it even takes place: dialogue. We are increasingly witnessing the phenomenon not just of segregated societies, but of more and more segregated and alienated lives. Dialogue helps cure this sad reality. Next week's event will be the European Parliament's own contribution to tackling this issue," said Schulz.

"Many victims of extremist violence and Islamic extremist terrorism are Muslims themselves: we must unite our forces and denounce all forms of violence claiming a religious justification. I am convinced that Muslim communities in Europe and the world share this view. The goal of this conference is to give them a chance to show their opposition to radicalism and hatred. Who shoots in the name of God, shoots God Himself," said Vice President Tajani.

Head of the Belgian Federal police department against radicalization and terrorism Luc Van der Taelen, European Muslim Network Director General Malika Hamidi, Imad Ibn Ziaten Youth Association for Peace Founder Latifa ibn Ziaten and Unity of Faiths Co-Founder Dr. Shamender Talwar will be among the speakers.

The event is being organized under the patronage of Vice-President Tajani (responsible for Inter-Religious Dialogue) and will be opened by President Schulz and Tajani himself. Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, ECR President Syed Kamall, Women’s Rights Committee Chair Garcia Perez and European Parliament Delegation to Maghreb Vice Chair Tokia Saifi will also contribute to the debate.

The programme with the list of speakers is available in English and French. Here’s some biographical info on the speakers.

Venue: Paul-Henri Spaak building (PHS), room 5B001. Time: 15:00-18:30.

You can follow the debate live via webstreaming and on our Storify in English and French, using #ReligiousDialogue.

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