Sisi: developing school curricula key to counter extremism

CAIRO – 24 August 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi discussed developing school curricula during a meeting Thursday with a number of officials and ministers, within the framework of the state strategy of facing terrorist and extremist thoughts.

During the meeting attended by Prime Minster Sherif Ismail, defense, endowments (Awqaf), sports, social solidarity, foreign affairs, interior affairs, communication, justice and education ministers, President Sisi reviewed the steps taken by the government to counter terrorism and extremist thoughts.

The meeting’s agenda included discussing other ways to combat terrorism ideologies through giving preachers and clerics training programs to renew their religious discourse and spreading the accepting the other,tolerance, renunciation of violence and the concept of citizenship within society.

Earlier Thursday, Sisi chaired the first meeting of the National Council to Counter Terrorism and Radicalism, attended by the prime minister, parliament speaker, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the Coptic Orthodox Pope and several ministers in addition to a number of public figures.

Sisi directed the council to work on a comprehensive national strategy that would uproot terrorism locally and globally along five axes; security, culture, economy, society, and media.

“The council shall contribute to promoting a moderate religious discourse, and review educational concepts to establish the values of accepting the other and rejecting violence and extremism,” Sisi said during the meeting.