The Conference on Intellectual Security and Combating Extremism in Mogadishu Kicked-off

Date: 29/04/2019

Mogadishu, 29th April 2019

The two-day International Conference on Intellectual Security and Combating Extremism, organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), represented by the Voice of Wisdom Centre in cooperation with the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia, was launched in the Somali capital Mogadishu on 29th April 2019.

The OIC General Secretariat explained in a speech delivered by Ambassador Askar Musinov, Director of the Security and Peace Unit of the Organization, that this international conference is organized in implementation of the resolution of the Council of Foreign Ministers at its last session in Abu Dhabi, and “in the Organization’s effort to support the development and construction path that the Somali Government is following, especially as every one knows the significant progress made regarding the service facilities sector, the improvement of the revenues of the state, security, and reduction of the armament phenomenon in Somalia”.

The speech addressed the Organization's central mission which is combating violence, safeguarding the Islamic religion and protecting Muslims from extremism and fanatism, as follows: “We constantly focus on supporting any effort to combat extremism and terrorism and calling for tolerance, security and peace.” The Ambassador added that the subject of intellectual security is considered the cornerstone of this endeavor. Intellectual security will preserve the gains of security and stability from the evil of destructive intellectual breakthroughs that call for violence and the breakage of bonds of solidarity, and compassion among members of one society and between different cultures.

The conference aims to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of the Muslim communities in order to address them by developing strategies for intellectual security, promoting dialogue on issues of extremism and terrorism and on ways to protect communities from extremist currents and trends, and by defining a work methodology for the strategy to be used for strengthening intellectual security in the countries of the Islamic world and for the intellectual, doctrinal and jurisprudential reinforcement of those countries.

The conference discusses a variety of topics, such as the concept of intellectual security in Islam, and the political, intellectual, religious and economic reasons that contributed to its damage, the link between intellectual security and extremism/terrorism, and ways to strengthen the role of relevant institutions in combating extremism, violence and terrorism through a comprehensive review of strategies, approaches, experiences, studies and practical plans.

The conference explores a number of practical outcomes, especially the legal and administrative bases for the protection of intellectual security in Muslim communities, the development of a unified work strategy throughout the Muslim world, and the building of a network of stakeholders in order to continuously communicate on efforts to strengthen intellectual security and eliminate extremism, and to put the Voice of Wisdom Centre of the OIC at the heart of the international equation to combat extremism and terrorism.

The conference is attended by participants from OIC member states and observer states, permanent member states of the UN Security Council, European and African countries with diplomatic representation in Somalia, as well as observers from international and regional organizations (UN, AU, EU, the Arab League, IGAD).

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