Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa called Friday for an end to rise of "evil theocracies" in the Middle East, most pressing was the Islamic Stae in Iraq and Levant (ISIL).
Prince Salman, addressing the opening session of the 10th IISS Manama Dialogue, noted severe threats posed by religiously-inspired extremist groups on the security and stability of the region.
Calling for the end to extremist ideologies, Prince Salman said: "While politics may drag people into ideology, it is the ideology itself that must be combated. It must be named, it must be shamed and it must be contained, and eventually it must be defeated.
"We must use all resources to hold accountable those who place themselves above other ordinary human beings who claim they have divine right to rule. These are people who try to govern us, here on earth, and in the hereafter. We are not only fighting terrorists, we are fighting theocrats," Prince Salman emphasised to an audience of senior regional and international security officials and policymakers.
Turning to events that have impacted the Middle East over the last four years, he added: "History and the events of 2011 will tell you that where state paradigms collapse, into the vacuum comes extremism. We will be fighting these theocrats for a very long time.
"The question is do we have the courage, and the moral and intellectual integrity to call them out for what they are," he continued.
Dr. John Chipman, Director General and Chief Executive of IISS, said: the Manama Dialogue can, if used wisely, become the incubator for a stronger strategic culture in and for the Middle East.
The Manama Dialogue provides a unique setting for national security leaders to gather to discuss a range of critical security issues, including ways to increase efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism, countering nuclear proliferation and regional military cooperation to address emerging threats.
Kuwait is represented by Sheikh Thamer Ali Al-Sabah, National Security Apparatus Chief.