[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Riyadh Forum on Countering Extremism and Fighting Terrorism" ids="146887,146888,146889"] Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — Speakers at the Riyadh Forum on Countering Extremism and Fighting Terrorism on Sunday affirmed that extremism and terrorism cannot be linked to any specific religion or region. They also highlighted the significance of Saudi Arabia's role in fighting terrorism so as to achieve global peace and security. "Saudi Arabia has a vital role in confronting the greatest danger facing the world since the Second World War because of its importance in the Arab and Islamic worlds and its experience in combating terrorism since the 1950s," the speakers pointed out. Prince Turki Al Faisal, chairman of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, inaugurated the forum in the presence of a host of anti-terror experts from various parts of the world. The forum was organized by the Center under the auspices of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC). In his speech, Prince Turki Al-Faisal said that Saudi Arabia has been fighting terrorism since its foundation and that it has faced many forms of terrorism since the 1950s. It has faced terrorism that has created organizations such as Al-Qaeda and other groups. In his keynote speech, Saud Al-Sarhan, secretary general of the center, said that the scourge of terrorism crosses all regional borders and has become a great threat to all nations in the world. "The Riyadh conference would be the major global pulpit in combating terror. The Saudi government sees fighting terror as its political, religious and moral responsibility," he pointed out. Addressing the forum, former US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who is also director of Belfer Center at Harvard University, praised Saudi Arabia for leading the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC). He stressed the need for restoring the confidence of those states affected by terrorism so that these countries should no longer be a fertile ground for extremist outfits. Franco Frattini, former defense minister of Italy, said the Saudi-led IMCTC is a big step in the right direction in combating terror, and that terrorism should not be linked to any religion. The speakers at the session titled "Daesh: The Second Edition and future of terror" emphasized that Daesh (the so-called IS) will disappear and disperse. They praised the integrated intellectual, media, social and military approach adopted by Saudi Arabia, considering it a model to be followed by the world in fighting Daesh. The speakers pointed out that the elimination of Daesh shall be achieved not only through military operations, but must include all intellectual, media and social channels, besides draining the sources of terror funding. "Conflicts and civil wars are also one of the causes of terrorism and extremism, and terrorism does not stem only from Islamic countries but even from non-Muslim countries," they said while calling on all countries to unite mechanisms of tackling the scourge of terror with shared visions and exchange of intelligence.
