Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Thursday that the terrorist organizations are exploiting extremist and violent thoughts to lure and recruit fighters and legitimize their criminal acts, stressing his confidence in the Egyptian people's ability to defeat terrorism.
The sound understanding of "extremism" should start with acknowledging that all terrorist organizations like Daesh, Boko Haram, Ansar el Sharia and al Qaeda have a common ideology, the top diplomat said while addressing the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in Washington attended by representatives of over 60 countries.
The extremist thoughts are the essence of the terrorist threats which have now spread internationally, he added, stressing that all these organizations seek to establish a "global religious state" based on misinterpretations of Islam.
The extremist thought which in the late 1920s provides the base for today's terrorist groups, he added.
He noted that this thought was based on a narrow understanding of the Islamic Sharia law, and then developed in the 1960s into the Takfiri doctrine, which is the ideological base for today's terrorism.
The top diplomat called for adopting a "comprehensive approach" to counter the terrorist threats.
There is no use of distinguishing between "the bad terrorism" which should be fought and the "good terrorism" which could be lived with, he made it clear.
Eventually, all organizations which are ideologically and militarily extremist should be confronted, he said.
He called on all partner states to provide support for other countries which are on the frontlines in the battle against terrorism.
Egypt had a tragic share of this fight in the present and in the past, he said.
It is constantly facing aggression, whether from within or without, he said.
He stressed that Egypt will defend itself, the whole region and beyond, and it is confident in the success as the Egyptian people understand the nature of threats and reject the false thoughts.
He pointed out that terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, stressing the important role played by the religious institutions in Egypt, topped by Al Azhar to fight extremism.
Source: MENA