Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies Reports Findings of “The Cost of Terrorism and Extremism in Egypt (1990-2020)” Research Project at Cairo Book Fair

alhadath – cairo

 – The Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies (ECSS) will host a special panel discussion at the 54th Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) on 2 February at the Cultural Salon in Plaza 2, to present the findings of the research project, “The Cost of Terrorism and Extremism in Egypt (1990-2020)”.
Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj will attend the event moderated by Dr. Khaled Okasha, General Manager of the ECSS. The session will see the participation of senior experts and researchers from the team involved in the two-year project, which was carried out jointly by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MOSS) and ECSS.
The significance of this project stems from the fact that Egypt has been afflicted by terrorism, just like many Islamic countries, none of which has been spared its repercussions. The project was meant to quantify the political, economic, and social impacts of terrorism on Egypt, while identifying the mechanisms and dynamics of its production, and putting forward policies to control and limit it, based on a thorough understanding of the surrounding context.
Because there are few Arab studies that address terrorism, the research aimed to fill the gap by providing an Egyptian perspective on the phenomenon. Despite the fact that Muslims and Arabs suffer the greatest losses as a result of terrorism, Western researchers conduct the majority of rigorous studies on the subject. While many of these studies have a high scientific value, they are frequently based on Western assumptions and visions. As a result, they support the Western narrative about terrorism, society, the state, religion, politics, and culture in Islamic societies, which may result in misinterpretation and serious injustice to Arab countries.
The research project essentially provides an alternative narrative to the dominant Western narrative, one that can be used to connect with academics, researchers, and decision-makers from various backgrounds to initiate a rational and fact-based conversation about terrorism, rather than passing judgment and leveling accusations based on preconceived notions.
Findings of the research project will be presented by Dr. Abdel Moneim Saeed, head of the ECSS Advisory Board, Member of the Senate, and Secretary of the Review and Evaluation Committee for the Research Project; Dr. Gamal Abdel-Gawad, head of the Public Policy Program at ECSS and Project Manager; Mr. Abdel-Fattah El-Gebaly, Chairman and Managing Director of the Egyptian Media Production City; Dr. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Professor of Political Sociology at Cairo University, and member of the Review and Evaluation Committee for the Research Project; and Professor Samir Morcos, political intellectual, member of the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue and head of the project’s political research team.
The ECSS pavilion at the CIBF features 95 books and new publications, including several titles and specialized periodicals the ECSS issued in recent months.