CAIRO (ICYF) – Within the program of OIC Festival, the “1st Forum of Youth in Islamic Countries on Combating Extremism” was held today, 07 February in Cairo. Mr. Abdula Manafi Mutualo, Director General of Youth Policy of ICYF, was one of the speakers in the Panel on “International and Regional Experiences and Best Practices in Addressing Extremism”, and he dedicated his intervention on the need of OIC Member States to focus their national policies in line with the OIC Youth Strategy, particularly, by timely and appropriately implementing its policy recommendations on the issue of countering extremism.

Mr. Manafi also discussed what the ICYF is doing in this regard, highlighting relevant programs being implemented by this OIC Youth Institution, including the Model OIC (where young people are thought how to develop new and fresh narratives to face the unacceptable stances where young Muslims are seen as the main problem), Youth Camps on Intercultural Dialogue for teaching the youth to embrace the “Other” and capacity building on understanding the values of morality and ethics within Islam so as to ensure that young citizens of OIC grow as positive examples of their respective societies, the Young Business Hub to provide employment expectations and avenues for young entrepreneurs to find their own way, serving as a way for them to be occupied with development thinking instead of deviant ideas, and, finally, Muslim Future Thinkers Forum in which young people are given the floor to understand the best modalities and formats in being knowledge influences in the Muslim world with narratives focused on progress and development.

In this context, he recommended that

1. The OIC Member States to be more active in supporting projects and initiatives to produce knowledge towards owning the narratives countering the misunderstandings being circulated about Muslim youth by some western quarters.
2. Programs are designed for Families to liaise with the community and religious leaders in harmonizing the moral and ethical teachings for the youngsters in their respective societies.
3. OIC Institutions, with the strong support of OIC Member States, to work more in establishing appropriate forums for Youth to be part of discussions and present their aspirations and expectations while being part of the decision making processes in their respective countries. 

Basically, the ICYF sees itself as the forum for young people to materialize their dreams and to nurture their hopes in the context of the appropriate interpretation of Islam.

ICYF Media Department