Somalia Holds Two-Day Conference On Countering Violent Extremism

State officials, diplomats and security experts from some 57 countries are attending a conference on countering violent extremism which kicked off on Monday in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The two-day forum which is organized by the Federal government of Somalia in collaboration with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will focus on reducing the threats of extremism.

Somali Deputy Prime Minister, Khadar Gulaid has officially opened the conference by welcoming all the guests, delegates and participants of the meeting.

The participants are member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) including Bangladesh, Yemen, and Tunisia as Burkino Faso.

Speaking at the event, Somali State Minister for Religious Affairs, Abdihakim Hassan called the participants to focus on means to unite Muslim communities.

“We are living in a drastic time as a Muslim Ummah. It is an honour for Somalia to hold this conference at this time as the unity of the Ummah is needed,” he told the attendees.

Abdirahman Said from Muslim World League who also spoke at the conference has congratulated Somali government for its commitment in combating extremism and violence.

He condemned all acts of violent extremism saying it is against the teaching of Islam.

“There is no place in Islam for terrorism and extremism. Dialogues have been established in various places by the Muslim World League to establish world peace as a sustainable unit for all,” he said.