#PINOR – Violent Extremism Knows No Religion

zipinsA PINOR member, ZIP Institute, NGO located in Skopje, FYROM, has recently been approved for a new project called “Countering Violent Extremism Among Youth in FYROM”. It will complete this project in collaboration with its partner organization,  , based in Switzerland.
The 9-months-long project is separated into two parts: the first part will respond to the fear that has been spread throughout FYROM of the refugees fleeing conflict-torn countries including Syria, Iraq, and Libya. Unfortunately there is too much incorrect and xenophobic information being propagated, even by FYROM’s leaders, about the refugees. At best, they are being portrayed as extra mouths to feed in FYROM, while there is a 26.8% poverty rate in the country already. At worst, they are being portrayed as having violent extremists among them who will commit terrorist acts against their host countries.
The project will create a webpage on which there will be featured unbiased investigative journalists to discuss the truth about the crisis, as well as an informational campaign about this website and emphasizing solidarity for the refugees among the public.
The second part of the project will revolve around involving community leaders and neighborhood councils in the fight against any kind of religious extremism. This part will involve research and groundbreaking only, serving as a pre-project phase for a later project on the topic. ZIP aims to gain expertise through a study visit to an organization specializing in CVE measures in FYROM and by forming initial contacts with religious leaders in FYROM.
The whole project is based on the idea of countering violent extremism from all its sides. This includes the large population of Albanian Muslims in the country, yes, but also (see the first section of the project) focuses in large part on majority Macedonian Orthodox Christians and their tendency toward extremism in the form of discriminating against refugees on the basis of religion.
ZIP and Seed* hope that through the implementation of this project, correct and unbiased information will be spread around the general population and that it can develop its expertise on CVE through engaging community leaders!

Violent Extremism Knows No Religion

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