Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for strengthening efforts to confront extremism through an enlightened religious and intellectual discourse.
Speaking during a celebration of the Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr), Sisi the people’s behaviors could affect the image of their religion negatively or positively in other nations’ views.
“Strong religion could be weakened by its believers’ behaviors,” the Egyptian president said, adding that Muslims should represent Islam in a good way through their practices.
Sisi warned against the dangers of Islamophobia and called on religious scholars to raise the moderate religious awareness and combat extremism among the youth, adding that the enlightened religious discourse was the best way to fight extremist ideology.
Since his accession to power in 2014, Sisi has focused on the issue of “renewing religious discourse.” His official speeches and interventions at public events often include a call to religious scholars to use moderate rhetoric.
The president expressed his regret at the presence of some hardline and extremist intellectuals, who make Muslims feel insecure.
“We have been killed by our own people for years and we spent a huge amount of money on our security [to be protected] from this ideology,” he stated.
“Our main objective is to preserve the essence of religion and to educate young people to understand the dangers of radical thought on the one hand and the magnitude of challenges and risks on the other,” Sisi added.
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