Riyadh – The Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, Etidal, received Tuesday, April 17, in its headquarters in the Saudi capital Riyadh a delegation from the Vatican State headed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in an official visit where many issues were discussed. The visit reflects the global efforts to promote the values of peace and tolerance and to renounce hate speech and violence. The delegation was welcomed by the Secretary General of Etidal, Dr. Nasser Albiqami, and some of Etidal’s leadership. A brief overview was made of current and future projects at Etidal. These aim at building strategic plans and messages, in accordance with the ideological, technical and media pivots of the Center, aspiring to achieve a global message that refutes extremism and call for coexistence and peace. Dr. Albiqami discussed with the delegation Etidal’s global objectives to spread the culture of moderation among the world’s nations. The role of the Center in promoting tolerance and coexistence among different cultures, nations and religions was stressed. Cardinal Tauran paid tribute to Edtial for its efforts, especially for its capability to analyze the causes of extremism. In a speech after watching a presentation about Etidal’s projects and programs, he emphasized that the primary cause of extremism, according to him, is the absence of justice, noting that extremism and ignorance are the real enemies of mankind and that most of people’s violent reactions are due to their ignorance of who you are or who they are. During the visit, advanced technologies were reviewed in the control and command center, where all contents related to spreading hatred and extremism are being observed before addressing, processing and combating them through ideological, technical and media projects and programs.
