Dr. Ahmad el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar and the head of the Muslim Council of Elders, called for youth empowerment, their involvement in combating extremism and terrorism and promoting dialogue among civilizations. During his meeting with, John Casson, the British ambassador in Cairo, the Grand Imam stated that young people with the potential to use modern means of communication have the ability to break down barriers and address misconceptions that have damaged inter-religious relations and affected world peace.
This is a very important point. Most of our strategies to deal with the other are based on traditional means. Arab countries always forget about the vital role of the youth to use modern means in dealing with other cultures. Missing this point has long led to poor communication because it was based on limited channels that most of the time are inefficient. Not to mention, the speech may sometimes get the wrong audience.
The dialogue of civilizations has long needed creating common points among young people everywhere. This category represents the future. Dialogue has specific requirements and tools. A message echoed by traditional senders will not reach the desired goal because the target audience will not receive it in the desired way.
Dialogue also requires effort, knowledge and the ability to communicate. Communicative skills are a must to a better dialogue. Using a shared and clear language is important in dialogue as well. Language is the carrier of culture and opinion. It is the key to communication. The impact of young people on dialogue with the other is highly important.
Daesh has succeeded in using its media strategies to achieve its goals. Despite rejection and condemnation of extremist ideas that harm the true religion of Islam, young people were the basis of Daesh’s propaganda. This terrorist organization used social media, new media and intelligent communication applications to spread its ideology.
On the other hand, plans to combat terrorist thought were limited to traditional media. Efforts that have been made to face extremism, to promote dialogue and eradicate negative stereotypes led to failure. This fact has long risked the future and stability of the Arab and Islamic States and people.
Empowering young people will help to reach the intended goals in combating terrorism. The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar knew this fact. Al-Azhar has organized many forums on institutionalizing and supporting the role of the youth. Al-Azhar has also established many centers based on modern communication skills such as the Al-Azhar World Watch Monitor and Fatwa Global Center, the Translation Center and so on.
In the UAE, there is a youth-based approach. The wise Emirati leadership believes that young people are the true wealth of the country. There is a big bet on the effectiveness of empowerment strategies that have given UAE youth vital roles in all fields of work. This has made the UAE a model in the Arab world where young people are the majority of the population. Focus must be directed towards this category to enhance development, combat terrorism and extremist thought and promote dialogue between cultures. Young people have the ability to represent the true image of young Muslims with all the values and principles of the Islamic religion.
