Skip to main content

Egypt seeks to battle extremism through religious education

Egypt's Ministry of Awqaf is once again opening its training camps for religious education, looking to include women and young people in an effort to fight extremism.

RTX1EH1E-1.jpg
Muslim scholars attend a conference held by the Ministry of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) in Cairo, Egypt, May 25, 2015. — REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

CAIRO — After six years, Egypt is reopening religious training camps to bring its employees and others up to speed on their education and give them the tools to guard against extremist thought. In addition to targeting imams, administrative staff and midlevel department heads, the camps will target students of Al-Azhar institutes and, for the first time, female preachers.

The ministry also hopes the effort will strengthen its employees' "street cred," which has suffered among some young Muslims.

Related Topics

Subscribe for unlimited access

All news, events, memos, reports, and analysis, and access all 10 of our newsletters. Learn more

$14 monthly or $100 annually ($8.33/month)
OR

Continue reading this article for free

All news, events, memos, reports, and analysis, and access all 10 of our newsletters. Learn more.

By signing up, you agree to Al-Monitor’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Already have an account? Log in