Prince Hassan calls for preventive plan to address radicalisation

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan, chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies (RIIFS), on Sunday opened the third international conference on religious freedom and human rights.

A number of Islamic and Christian scholars and intellectuals will be participating in the two-day conference, organised by the RIIFS, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Italian Embassy in Amman and the Catholic University of the S. Heart under the title, "Religious Freedom and Human Rights: Unity, Diversity and Pluralism".

While delivering a speech, Prince Hassan stressed the need for enhancing the concepts of freedom of religion, public good, dialogue, engagement and partnership among the various components of the society, according to a statement from the Prince’s office.

The Prince also stressed the need for activating the role of citizens in the region in order to move away from sectarian and ethnic divisions by building on the principles of respect of human dignity and people's right to a decent life, the statement said.

Prince Hassan also called for strengthening the values of dialogue, equality and citizenship in the region, stressing the need for a preventive action plan to address radicalism and the fears emerging from the conceptualisation of the term “minorities” as deviants within society and not as basic and insuperable components of citizenship, the statement said.

The Prince also noted that the current challenges require proper analysis of the past for a better insight into the present, stressing the need to move from ideas to implementation, according to the statement.