President Mohamud Urges Clerics to Up Role in Countering Violent Extremism

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has reiterated his call to clerics to use their position in society to counter extremist narratives fronted by terrorist groups.

Speaking during a dinner with clerics from different parts of the country Friday night, President Mohamud said members of the clergy play a crucial role in countering wrong narratives and setting the record straight to avoid groups such as Al-Shabaab using Islam to advance their ideology.

The president praised the scholars for their role in supporting the government and the Somali people in their fight against the extremists, whom he said were enemies of Islam and Somalia. He said the scholars were the inheritors of the noble religion of Somalia, which has a rich history of Islamic scholarship and culture.

He noted that clerics were the backbone of the ongoing war in the country to liberate the terrorists of Alshabab.

The clerics, on their part, pledged their support to the government in fighting extremist ideologies.

The Federal Government has singled out ideological warfare as one of the components of the war against Al-Shabaab. The others are military offensives and financial sanctions.