World must admit IS crimes, Sisi tells Nadia Murad

CAIRO - 3 November 2018: “Nadia, we will demand the entire world to admit the crimes committed by the Islamic state. We in Egypt rejected extremism. Thirty million protested to reject discrimination and fascism, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi told Yazidi Nobel peace prize winner Nadia Murad.

The president was referring to the June 30 mass protests that toppled former President Mohamed Morsi who is affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Murad delivered a keynote speech in the opening session of the 2018 World Youth Forum (WYF) held on Nov.3 in Sharm El Sheikh. The Nobel winner said that the Islamic state forced half million Yazidis to flee their homes in Iraq.

“There are wide divisions amongst our countries and amongst our peoples. In order to achieve peace, women have to receive their rights and the peoples of the regions should acknowledge each other’s differences in terms of religion and traditions,” Murad said.

“Without implanting the culture of tolerance and coexistence amongst the peoples of the region, we will not achieve peace. Without penalizing criminals, we will not achieve peace,” Murad said.

“Terrorism and extremism are the source of evil in our region. More than 6,000 women and children were enslaved in 2014 and abused. They (Islamic state militants) destroyed our cities and looted all our possessions,” Murad said.

“We know the effort done by Egyptian troops to fight terrorism. We, the youth, should work together to come closer to young people to save them from extremism, and enforce positive thinking,” Murad said.

At the beginning of her speech, Murad extended condolences to Egyptians for the murder of seven and the injury of 15 Christians on Nov.3. They were shot by terrorists while on their way to a convent in Upper Egypt.

Murad, 25, is an Iraqi human rights activist who was herself held by the Islamic State as sex slave in 2014. She received the 2018 Nobel peace prize jointly with Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege.