Alexandria [Egypt] - Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) has recently launched anti-extremism program to raise awareness of the perils of radicalization that eventually leads to terrorism. Dr. Mostafa El-Feki, BA Director, has inaugurated the 1st session of the program, titled: "The Islamic Culture". El-Feki started his speech by saying that the religion of Islam is one of the most tolerant and progressive religions even though it has been exploited by extremists and anti-civilization forces, adding that Islam is, in essence, a religion that cares much about elevating human beings and their mental faculty which is essential maxims of all Islamic duties and jurisprudence. He pointed out that Islamic extremists are conspiring against Islam for their basest ends. El-Feki explained that the unique Egyptian identity had been much swayed by the succession of civilizations from the Pharaonic, Greek, Coptic, until the great Islamic civilization, affirming that the concept of citizenship is the bare foundation of the pattern of modern state, and that Islamic culture cherish that concept. Islam appreciates the nation-state mode of governance for no nation has ever existed without a homeland. El-Feki also underscored that the role of the Bibliotheca Alexandria is to protect these ideas and to be the voice of the voiceless, asserting the importance of developing a viable mechanism to interact with all ideas and cultures and bend them altogether.
