Islamic terrorist groups misguided

TUNIS, Tunisia, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Officials at an international counter-terrorism conference in Tunisia say no motive can ever justify acts of terrorism and that Islam should not be blamed.

The U.N.-sponsored, three-day conference called "Terrorism: Dimensions, Threats and Countermeasures" held in Tunis was an effort to discuss a series of terrorism-related issues, including an examination of conditions conducive to terrorism and the promotion of education to prevent Islamophobia. Officials say approximately 200 people attended the event, the Hindustan Times reported.

Experts say Islamophobia has spread as a result of what critics at the conference called misguided groups that attribute their violent acts to Islam. Participants agreed that terrorism flourishes in environments where there is a weak political structure, discontent, exclusion, poverty, political oppression and human-rights abuses all thrive.

"It profits from weak state capacity to maintain law and order," Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, president of Tunisia, said in a statement. "These vulnerable areas are exploited by terrorists to mobilize recruits and justify violence. None of the religions are a cause of political radicalism and extremism. Religious doctrine may be 'tools of mobilization,' rather than a direct cause."