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Since late 2006,
LibForAll Foundation has been advising European governments on how to effectively
counter the radicalization of Muslim populations, while laying the groundwork for the expansion of
successful LibForAll counter-extremism programs to Europe and
key EU Neighborhood regions.
LibForAll's operations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East
are being conducted largely under the umbrella of Stichting LibForAll, which is incorporated in
the Netherlands and enjoys a close relationship with the European
Union, the German and Swedish governments, and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which financed and helped
to coordinate LibForAll's expansion to Europe.
Stichting
LibForAll’s
counter-extremism network includes associates in
Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, the UK,
France, Spain and Italy, as well as Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt,
Palestine, Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and India.
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On September 10, 2007,
LibForAll became the first non-governmental organization
to address COTER, the
European Union's working group on
counter-terrorism, attended by top CT officials from all
27 EU member states. The EU's Portuguese Presidency
had
invited LibForAll CEO Holland Taylor to describe "the
work you have done to help to eliminate the
underlying causes of terrorism and examples of projects
which have worked successfully in Indonesia. We would
also be interested to hear your thoughts on working in
Europe and North Africa."
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In March of 2008,
LibForAll VP Dr. Ravi Krishnamurthy addressed COASI,
the
European Union's
working group on Asia,
where he was requested to present “LibForAll’s general
experience of how to work the anti-extremist agenda,”
and “provide suggestions on how the EU could contribute
to the promotion of moderate Islam.” |
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Additional high-level
European venues addressed
by LibForAll executives include the
Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE's) Public Private
Partnership in Countering Radicalization conference
in Vienna, Austria (right), where CEO Holland Taylor briefed
top Counter-terrorism officials from throughout Europe; the
United
Nations Alliance of Civilizations' First Forum in
Madrid, Spain (LibForAll serves as a member of the AoC's
Foundation Working Group); a seminal European Commission
conference in Brussels on
Preventing Radicalization through Education; a
Spanish conference How to Prevent Violent Radicalization
of Muslims, co-sponsored by the Spanish Interior
Ministry's Department of State Security, the Ortega y Gasset
Foundation and the Elcano Royal Institute for International
and Strategic Studies; and the European Commission's
Directorate for Justice, Freedom and Security. |
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LibForAll’s pioneering role in the field of counter-extremism was
further acknowledged at a major Dutch
government-sponsored conference
entitled Countering Radicalization: Perspectives and
Strategies from Around the Globe, at which a Swedish expert
from the prestigious
Center for Asymmetric Threats Studies in
Stockholm, Dr. Magnus
Ranstorp, advised
counter-radicalization specialists to consider
“innovative programs such as those implemented by
LibForAll Foundation.” |
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Among LibForAll Europe's key
activities are its contributions to LibForAll's
International Institute of Qur'anic Studies (IIQS), in
which top scholars from the EU, the Middle East and
Indonesia are working to help Muslims build a bridge
between their own traditions and the modern world of
freedom, equality, human rights, democracy and
globalization.
The IIQS operates under the patronage, guidance and
protection of
LibForAll co-founder H.E. Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid (above right) and Dr. Syafi'i Ma'arif, former heads of the world's two largest Muslim
organizations, the Nahdlatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah
respectively, whose total membership numbers 70 million.
Renowned Egyptian reformer
and Qur'anic expert, Dr. Nasr Hamid Abu-Zayd (right,
above and below), is the Institute's academic
director. Dr Abu-Zayd, who lives in the Netherlands,
acts as a bridge between Europe and Indonesia, where the
atmosphere of freedom and critical thinking provide a
suitable ground for implementing the initial phases of
this strategic initiative. |
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Further emphasizing the synergy between LibForAll's European and
Indonesian operations, in the spring of 2008 the Swedish Foreign
Ministry provided funding for LibForAll's Smiling Face of Islam
project, to enable the translation and publication of key works that
will facilitate the spread of pluralistic and tolerant ideas between
Europe, Indonesia and the rest of Islamic world.
For a small glimpse of the problems Europe is facing, view this
television report from Belgium.
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