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Saudis, Germany Try New Approaches To Encourage Development of Moderate Islam

By Howard Friedman

Two developments reported yesterday illustrate innovative attempts by governments around the world to press Muslims for ideological change in the direction of moderation. UPI reported that the Saudi Arabian government is beginning a program to retrain 40,000 Islamic clerics in a "culture of dialogue ? centrism and moderation." King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue "in cooperation with" the Ministry of Islamic Affairs will be conducting the training.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported yesterday that in the German states of North Rhine Westphalia and Hamburg, officials are using a new comic strip to encourage young people to adopt a moderate mainstream version of Islam. A new comic adventure, distributed to every secondary school in North Rhine Westphalia, features schoolboy hero Andi. In it, his girlfriend Ayshe and her brother Murat fall under the influence of a radical friend and an Islamic extremist preaching hate. This is part of a broader attempt to use pop culture figures to prevent young people from being drawn into radical Islamist groups.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on March 25, 2008 (boomark / email).