Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism (AOCE) received a delegation from Al-Azhar International Academy for Training Imams (AIATIP), comprising participants from six countries: Algeria, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, India, Guinea-Conakry, and Guinea-Bissau. This visit reflects an ongoing efforts to exchange expertise and highlight Al-Azhar's role in establishing a moderate and balanced global approach.
During the visit, the AOCE —through its 13 units working in different languages—, presented its mechanism and ongoing efforts in monitoring, analyzing, and preparing systematic counter-narratives for extremist ideologies, particularly, its index for monitoring the activities of terrorist groups in Africa.
In her remarks, the AOCE General Director, Reham Salama, welcomed the delegation and emphasized the importance of international cooperation in confronting contemporary intellectual challenges.
The meeting crystallized Al-Azhar's approach, which is based on promoting intellectual pluralism among its students. It also highlighted the importance of the specialized and intensive training programs developed by Al-Azhar for imams, preachers, and muftis in Egypt and worldwide. These programs refute extremist ideology and address contemporary issues, particularly Islam's correct stance on women's issues, coexistence, and positive integration. The program offers imams the opportunity to engage with Egyptian society through field visits to historical sites and witnessing the Egyptian experience of positive coexistence, where "Muslims and Christians live side by side," which makes it a comprehensive program.
At the end of the visit, Dr. Reham Salama emphasized that the AOCE is a cornerstone of the strategy of the Global institution of Al-Azhar to counter extremist ideologies and disseminate the genuine values of Islam, calling for peace, coexistence, and integration.