HIGH PROFILE VOICES FROM SOMALIA AND EAST AFRICA SET TO ATTEND
Saturday, November 8, 2014
London-based Anti-Tribalism Movement (ATM) is preparing to host a four-day anti-extremism conference in Istanbul fromMonday 10 November. The conference will discuss the threats from Al-Shabab and ISIS how Somalis should respond to protect their communities from the groups’ warped ideologies.
The conference sessions will feature a range of speakers who have the credibility to counter Al-Shabaab and ISIS’s messages. These include Somali and other East African scholars, Somali women, people who have been the victims of Al-Shabaab, and academics from Al-Azhar University in Cairo (the seat of Sunni Islamic thought).
Managing Director of ATM, Adam Matan, said: “Vile groups like Al-Shabaab and ISIS are un-Islamic and do not hold any Islamic values and their views is incompatible with East African culture and identity. Collectively, We need a strategy to combat violent extremism that should be constructed with a clear, realistic end state. Our hopes for this unique conference are to work together to develop a single narrative and plan of action to combat terrorist groups around the world, which threaten all our communities. A solution led by Somalis for Somalis possesses the capabilities to eliminate support for extremist ideologies of violence and stands a chance of succeeding in stamping out their threat.”
The Anti-Tribalism Movement will convene Somali and East African religious credible community leaders, Somali professors and Somali youth representatives to discuss conflict resolution, extremism, violence and Tribalism and issue joint communiqué against Al-Shabaab and others who practice violence.
The conference will welcome some victims of extremist violence and invite them to share their stories and give them a platform to raise awareness of their ordeals.
The conference will take place in Istanbul from 10th November 2014-13th November 2014.