Iraqi organisation kicks off counter-extremism campaign

2012-12-22

Rahma, a humanitarian organisation based in Anbar province, on Saturday (December 22nd) launched a campaign to counter extremism and religious intolerance in cities in Anbar province.

Rahma chairman Jamal al-Fahdawi said that 70 activists and clerics are taking part in the campaign, which targets residents of remote villages and rural areas as well as nomadic Bedouins.

It explains the dangers of extremism in religion and tribal beliefs, and the dangers of religious intolerance, which often leads to violence and extremism, he said.

"All that we are going to do is to provide a simple explanation of our religion that rewards people for smiling and gives them a great reward for forgiving and pardoning, as our Prophet (PBUH) told us," he said.

According to al-Fahdawi, "the campaign will feature religious lectures, posters and books. As for those who do not read or write, there will be illustrations. In addition, we will try to remove extremist books al-Qaeda distributed to them in past years."

The campaign is slated to target about 400,000 people in Anbar province, he said.
Source http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/newsbriefs/2012/12/22/newsbrief-03