In collaboration with “Benaa Office” affiliated to Al-Azhar Institute Sector, Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism (AOCE) launched a new 5-day awareness activity under the slogan “Insight” in Minia Governorate. This initiative aims to promote Al-Azhar’s scholarly and educational role in shaping the character of new generations and fortifying them, intellectually and culturally, against extremist ideologies. It aims also to enhance the young generation’s abilities to think critically, analyze, and confront extremist approaches. The core message focuses on instilling the genuine teaching of Islam that enhances human values.
In their discussions, AOCE’s researchers gave an overview of the AOCE and the "Insight" initiative, highlighting AOCE’s role in monitoring and analyzing extremist discourse in thirteen languages, and crystallizing the initiative's goal of promoting critical thinking. They highlighted several critical intellectual issues. Following are the key issues discussed during the event:
- The strategies of recruiting youth, focusing on how extremist organizations exploit the psychological and social needs of young people and manipulate their awareness,
- The danger of online extremism, emphasizing the use of cyberspace and encrypted applications by terrorist organizations to spread their propaganda,
- Extremist ideology in the age of artificial intelligence,
- Integration and coexistence: a vital necessity against extremism,
- The importance of the Al-Azhar curriculum in addressing misconceptions,
- Ethics of communication and countering digital extremism,
- Artificial intelligence: misinformation and revealing intellectual deviance,
- Challenges of protecting identity in the digital age, and
- The concept of freedom of opinion and expression.
The event saw notable engagement from all students, especially after viewing numerous AOCE videos highlighting pressing issues of our time from the Islamic perspective.