Saudi Arabia Ministry of Islamic Affairs Launches Arabic-English Website to Fight Extremism

The Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs has announced the upcoming launch of a website aimed at fighting extremism and to reform individuals with extremist views. The website, which will have sections in Arabic and in English, is aimed at Muslim audiences worldwide. It will include forums for debating controversial issues like takfir (accusing other Muslims of heresy) and al-walaa wal-baraa.

The site is to be operated by the Al-Sakinah Campaign, an independent Saudi initiative supported by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The campaign initiates dialogue with extremists on the Internet with the aim of preventing the spread of extremist views.

In an interview with the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh, the public relations director of the Al-Sakinah Campaign, Khaled Al-Mushawwah, provided details on the planned site.

The following are excerpts from the interview:

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which generally monitors Arabic media for anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli stories, notes with approval the start-up of an anti-extremist website being run by the Saudi government. The article, translated from the Arabic daily Al-Riyadh notes other on-line efforts the Saudi government has taken in trying to pull extremists toward the center of the debate over the meaning of Islam. Definitely worth reading the whole thing.