A/HRC/28/66 which remain disappointingly abstract, because they are based on the problematic assumption that violence results from a mere “instrumentalization” of religion and, accordingly, has little, if anything, to do with religious motives. Yet, such rejections based on a trivialization of religious motives will themselves remain trivial. As discussed earlier, the instrumentalization thesis one-sidedly attributes the problem to external, non-religious factors while too quickly discarding the potential relevance also of religious obsessions and theological views. 64. Religious communities and especially their representatives and intellectual leaders should not succumb to the temptation to reduce the issue of violence in the name of religion to mere “misunderstandings” and external abuses. This would amount to an irresponsible trivialization of the problem. Instead, when dealing with the issue of such violence, theologians and religious leaders should actually expose themselves to the disturbing fact that perpetrators of violence — or at least some of them — may be convinced to perform an act of service to God when killing fellow humans. Taking seriously these ideas, however bizarre and distorted they may seem, is the precondition for giving sufficiently profound responses. Only by confronting the perverse “attractiveness” of violent religious extremism for some people, including people living in precarious and volatile political circumstances, will it be possible to tackle the various root causes of violence, including polarizing religious interpretations and incitement to religious hatred. 65. Beyond a clear condemnation of violence committed in the name of religion, communities and their leaders should positively promote empathy, tolerance and an appreciation of diversity. They should challenge the religious extremists’ authenticity claims by exposing the ignorance of their views of the charitable core messages contained in religious traditions. Religious communities and scholars may also play an important role in rehabilitation and reintegration programs for violent extremist offenders and foreign fighters who returned to their country of origin, also with a view to neutralize possible future radicalization efforts.25 2. Interreligious initiatives 66. The potential of interreligious communication for overcoming violence in the name of religion is enormous.26 Many examples demonstrate that violence frequently occurs in the absence of any trustful communication across religious or denominational boundaries, and the related vacuum of ideological power. The reasons for the lack or decline of intergroup communication can be manifold, ranging from broader processes of societal fragmentation and policies of exclusion to the demonization of others in polarizing religious interpretations. Whatever the reasons in a particular situation may be, initiatives aimed at improving the relationship between different religious communities can substantially contribute to preventing violent escalation. In-depth research into a number of cases of communal violence has led to the conclusion that acts of violence could be contained to a certain degree in localities where communities had developed a sustainable culture of cross-boundary communication. Apart from its preventative potential, intergroup communication therefore also helps to alleviate situations in which mass-scale violence actually occurs. 25 26 16 (Jordan). See, for example, www.thegctf.org/documents/10162/38330/Rome+Memorandum-English. and www.thegctf.org/documents/10162/140201/14Sept19_The+HagueMarrakech+FTF+Memorandum.pdf. See A/HRC/22/51/Add.1, para. 90 (Cyprus), A/HRC/25/58, para. 44 and A/66/156, paras. 21-69.