15 Jan 2017 The Arab and Muslim Worlds are in a paroxysm of violence and chaos; of collapsing states and rising militias; of terrorism and horrors beyond description; of countless victims and dislocated populations. Doubtless military force and strong state policing will be needed to restore order, stability and security. But beyond the necessary military and police actions, there is still the need to understand why these extreme ideas that beget violence and terrorism have spread in the Arab-Muslim societies and how to fight such ideas with ideas. It is clear the cultural landscape needs to be changed to promote an open and tolerant current where we can promote pluralism and multi-faceted identities within the national entity, or even the supra-national entity, as in Europe. Such a cultural framework should address the rights of all citizens, and recognize that women’s rights are human rights, and it should also facilitate orderly change through discussion and debate and peaceful participatory means of citizen engagement. All these aspects will diffuse the potential tensions and make it difficult for extremism to take root, for dissidence to turn to anger, and for anger to turn into rage and violence. Farida Allaghi ,  Shahira Amin ,  Mohammed Hassan ,  Mostafa El-Feki ,  Zlatko Lagumdzija ,  Mohamed Mehanna