A Seminar at the College of Education for Pure Sciences Enhances the Concept of Peaceful Coexistence and Combating Extremism

The Department of Chemistry at the College of Education for Pure Sciences at Samarra University organized an awareness seminar titled: “Bridges of Coexistence with a National Vision to Address Extremist Thought,” presented by Assist. Lect. Mahasin Raad Mahmoud and Assist. Lect. Mayami Hussein Ali.

The seminar organizers sought to define extremist thought as a pattern of thinking that leads to intolerance of opinion and rejection of the “other.”
Extremism relies on a narrow or distorted interpretation of religious, political, or social ideas.

In turn, Mahasin explained the most prominent causes of extremism, represented by ignorance and weak cultural and religious awareness, as well as difficult economic conditions such as the spread of unemployment and poverty, in addition to family disintegration and weak social upbringing, moreover the misuse of social media platforms, which leads to the dissemination of deviant ideas.

On the other hand, Mayami emphasized the necessity of confronting extremist thought as it is a shared responsibility between the family, educational and religious institutions, and the media, especially since building a cohesive society depends on moderation, and awareness is the ideal path to limit this phenomenon.

Meanwhile, the two lecturers recommended the necessity of enhancing the culture of dialogue and tolerance, and supporting the role of the family and educational institutions in instilling moderate values, in addition to spreading correct religious awareness from reliable sources, particularly empowering youth economically and intellectually.