Religious affairs minister: Algeria is protected from extremism

Algeria’s religious affairs minister Mohamed Aissa said society experiences some conflicts between different intellectual and religious trends. He believes that the national religious reference is a safety valve against attempts to raise conflicts in society. “Algeria is protected from extremist ideas after the tragedy it had experienced in the 1990’s,” he said.

The minister defended Saudi Arabia’s role in the Muslim world by spreading moderate ideas. He told a Saudi newspaper Riyadh makes efforts to make people come back to moderate ideas.

“This can be done. In my last visit to Saudi Arabia, I talked to its officials about ways to face misleading ideas. Riyadh would foil ISIS’ attempts in the region,” he added.

He also said the Arab region experiences big crises due to the Arab Spring revolutions. 

“Most of Muslims who are not living in their homeland always feel that they are accused of terrorism and need to defend themselves. I think that the intellectual elites can change the situation. They did not play any efficient role. Because of that, young people are misled by following wrong ideas,” he added.