International terrorism: a new approach and new strategies

On 24 March 2015, the European Foundation for Democracy, in cooperation with the Università degli Studi di Brescia, the European Law Student's Association and Amnesty International, organised a discussion on preventing radicalisation, terrorism and violent extremism. The objective of the conference was to see how Muslim academics and activists can best deconstruct the radical narrative - increasingly attractive to young Muslims across the Western world - as a means to tackle the terrorist threat. The panelists explained that the radical discourse subtly or overtly advanced by Islamists in politics and society must be understood as the harbinger of terrorism. They stressed therefore that it is a fatal mistake to consider Islamists as legitimate representatives of Islam. On the contrary, their violent ideology must be fought by giving voice to those liberal Muslims promoting a humanistic view of Islam, who often go unheeded in the West and are brutally silenced in their home countries.

This event was held at Università degli Studi di Brescia.

Guest Speakers:
Karima BENNOUNE, Professor of international law at the University of California – Davis School of Law: "The importance of the counter narrative and involvement of civil society in tackling radicalization that can lead to terrorism".

Valentina COLOMBO, professor of Geopolitics of the Islamic world at the European University in Rome and Senior Fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy: "A road to anti-radicalization: self-Islam vs. Islamic community".

Elham MANEA, Associate Professor of Middle East Studies at Zurich University: "The genesis and evolution of radicalism in Europe and the Middle East and how we have tackled the phenomenon in Europe. How do we demystify the allure of the radical narrative?"

Moderator:
Valentina COLOMBO