Brussels: Europe and Arabs

Yesterday, Saturday, the Belgian capital, Brussels, witnessed the holding of a session of the “SOAR” program, which is supervised by the executive body of the European Union, a program aimed at “enhancing the security and resilience of religious sites and communities at risk.” With the participation of a number of leaders of religious centers and places of worship for followers of different religions and beliefs among Muslims. The next session will be held in the women’s capital, Vienna, on the eighth of this month, and then it will move to other European capitals and cities.
 The program looks to strengthen the protection and protection of places of worship across the seven pilot countries in which we operate across Europe (France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands and Denmark).
According to the event organizers Mancher, “The partnership network is extensive and includes representatives from all majority and minority religions practicing within the European Union. The project focuses on interfaith communication in our training and access, supporting the maintenance of the safety and security of all religions and religious institutions across Europe. This is to Personal Protection Training for Religious Leaders As we have seen a rise in attacks on religious sites across Europe, religious leaders have also been targeted, and their safety and security is a serious concern.
In statements to the news website "Europe and the Arabs", Sheikh Noureddine Al-Taweel, a well-known preacher in Belgium and a member of the committee supervising the implementation of the "Swar" project or program, said that the session that was held in Brussels lasted for one day only and was attended by many heads and directors of religious centers of different religions. A number of specialists spoke about how to secure these buildings, and they provided the participants with valuable tips and directions to enhance the security of the building, whether by deploying cameras or other means, as well as how to secure worshipers in places of worship and protect them from terrorist attacks or in cases of accidents or disasters, as well as how to protect men Religion themselves, as the specialists provided important advice in this regard, in which security men and engineers participated in the world of communications and technology, as well as in the world of knowledge, with the aim of raising awareness of extremism, whether religious extremism or from extreme right-wing parties and others
Nour El-Din concluded by saying that the project is based on awareness, whether for managers or worshipers, and there will be awareness programs for youth and women with the aim of raising their awareness and promoting security and peace.
This project or program “Swar” comes under the supervision of several institutions, including the Enhancing Faith Institutions (EFI) is a European consulting firm that provides expert guidance and training to religious communities across the continent with the aim of improving governance and management structures, with a major focus on the preventive security of places Worship. With it, Finn Church Aid (FCA) is Finland's largest international aid organization with over 70 years of experience, helping people regardless of their background. The FCA serves as the legal representative and host for the Secretariat of the Network of Religious and Traditional Peacemakers as well as the Council of Architects in Europe is a non-profit organization founded in Treviso (Italy) on May 11, 1990 with the merger of the former Liaison Committee of Architects of Europe United (CLAEU) and the former Council of European Architects (CEA). .
“Our audiences will be directed throughout the project to a new knowledge base providing access to trainings, manuals, resources and best practices in the field of preventive security,” said the program supervisors. “National, regional/metro and local training courses will be provided in seven pilot countries of the European Union France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary, and will include a focus on increasing cooperation between security offices and leaders of places of worship with their wider communities and public authorities, including the police.We are working to use innovative communication methods that increase the awareness and capacity of places of worship and religious leaders to respond to threats Physical and human security This will use the full range of communication channels including partnership networks..

SOAR is funded and supported by the European Commission and the project partnerships will develop broad networks that include representatives from all majority and minority religions practicing within the European Union. The insights of those who have lived experiences on the threat or actual terrorist attacks and hate crimes will be shared to promote political dialogue at the regional level with regional, EU and global organisations. They include the European Commission, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and European Union member states, to strengthen the protection of religious sites and develop the ethos of "Security by Design" (SBD).