Al-Iban made the comments while speaking during a conference on terrorism organized by the Islamic University in Madinah: “The Conference of Terrorism — Between Intellectual Extremism and Extremist Ideology.”

During his speech, Al-Iban spoke about the impact of terrorism on development plans, as “terrorism forces many countries to direct a part of their resources to battle it.” He added that this impedes development efforts and threatens human rights.

The HRC president also drew attention to the care that Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif is giving to raising awareness to the threats of terrorism, which he described as one of the most “dangerous challenges” of the century “if not the most dangerous.”

Al-Iban said citizens should be provided with security and protected against destructive ideologies, adding that he agrees with Prince Naif that intellectual security means settlement, progress and development.

Societies have suffered terrorism throughout history, said Al-Iban, adding that the problem is intensifying and becoming an international dilemma. “Terrorism is an act that violates human rights and its basic freedom, as it obliterates lives, destroys physical safety and moreover imposes a specific ideology that poses a threat to individuals’ rights to life and to entertaining different viewpoints,” said Al-Iban, stressing that all laws, religions and legislations prohibit terrorism.

He added that the Kingdom has adopted several measures in the battle against terror. “The Saudi experience in combating terrorism and eradicating extremist ideologies through dialogue and advisory programs has proven successful,” he said, adding that the Kingdom's experience has attracted international praise and has been copied in a number of countries.

He further said that the Kingdom is a signatory of many international agreements on battling terrorism, a problem that requires global cooperation to deal with its root issue.