Education is the key to find misconceptions on religious values, says Benarba

Education is the key in safeguarding the fundamental values that should guide society and which are endangered by the rise of extremism, stressed Lahouari Benarba in his article for Our World magazine.
Benarba, President of the Les Jeunes du Monde Unis, noted that the increase of terrorist attacks in western societies had a big impact on the way people interpret religions and the values they are based on, resulting in the promotion of hate crimes and stereotyping.
‘‘It is intriguing to see how the behavior of isolated individuals prejudices the perception of the whole religion before the rest of the world,’’ he noted.
‘‘What causes the constant conflict between religions?’’ he asked, replying that the answer lies in ”interpretation”. Benarba criticised the tendency to focus on the differences that separate the various religions rather than the factors that unify them.
Given this, he explained how religion and education are complementary to one another in order to protect the core fundamental values that all religions share.
You can read the full article on the 10th edition of Our World magazine.