Al-Shandry explains reasons of religious extremism

Sheikh Lutfi Al-Shandry, head of the International Center for Dialogue of Civilizations and Peaceful Coexistence (ICDCPC), said that the phenomenon of religious extremism has emerged again in our mosques during the holy month of Ramadan, where number of imams have called upon the worshipers to apply shari'a and pray for the fighters in Syria.
 
He added that what happened in the state of Kairouan by an imam, who has turned the sermon from its lofty goal to a trial of the President of Syria, is a dangerous matter, where he expressed his sympathy with the Mujahideen and ISIS members.

The ICDCPC is a shining point in the face of extremist thought and in delivering a clear message to the makers of death and fear that we are capable of fighting this disease threatening human existence.
 
He said that the Ministry of Religious Affairs should review its strategy and objectives, which could not address this thought, and reconsider selecting the officials of the ministry, preachers and guides, calling for the participation of the moderate Zaytouni scholars who have been excluded.

He called for punishing every imam who calls for extremism and terrorism according to the law. The impact of this thought on some imams is the main reason for the security failure.
 
He said that the Ministry of Religious Affairs had to involve scholars and moderate sheikhs to call for peace and security in our mosques from a view based on the Quran and Sunnah, and on the concepts far from violence and extremism.

He stressed that it is necessary to formulate a comprehensive project that protects the houses of God and protects young people from destructive ideas. "It is necessary to have a modern and innovative religious discourse that can bring young people and the leaders of mosques out of the abhorrent thought, to the light of reformist thought and enlightened discourse that puts us in the path of reform," he indicated.

He stressed that ICDCPC aspires to put forward a religious discourse aimed at the renewal and rearrangement of the ladder of priorities and the organization of the most important and major purposes of science and reform, while highlighting the side of Islamic values ​​and ethics of the general humanity that all people need without exception.
 
Al-Shandry also stressed that innovation requires great techniques of communication and persuasion.