Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Britain, is urging that schools across the globe teach “the virtue of religious respect.” Blair says that “education is a security issue,” because not doing so increases the risk of “worsening ideology in the long term.” Blair, in an article he wrote for the BBC, especially pointed out the fact that the Islamic State is recruiting young people to join the Jihadi cause.
“There is no doubt that force is needed to confront a group like Isis; it is a group of people who fight without hesitation, kill without mercy and die without regret. But…one of the most important questions this generation of leaders faces [is]: how we uproot the thinking of the extremists, not simply disrupt their actions,” Blair wrote.
“Because unless we begin to confront the underlying causes each time we take on a group like Isis another will quickly arise to take its place.”
After leaving public office, Blair established a Faith Foundation to counter religious prejudice. He says millions of children are taught daily “a view of the world that is hostile to those of different beliefs.” He called for “incubators of radicalism” to be countered by “honesty and openness.”
Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, agrees, saying that conflicts “have to be tackled ideologically.” Welby said “religious leaders must up their game and engage jihadism in religious, philosophical and ethical space. Religious justifications of violence must be robustly refuted.”
In an ecumenical age, will the Bible teaching to separate from the false religion of Babylon be considered extremist ideology and “uprooted”?