Maajid Nawaz

Maajid Nawaz's current work and passion is founded by his early years spent as a leader of the global Islamist group, Hizb ut-Tahrir. His imprisonment in Egypt allowed him years of study, and marked his transformation towards more anti-extreme thought and democratic values and ideology leading to his adoption as an Amnesty International "prisoner of conscience.'

Human Rights, education, economic empowerment, and a respect for individual liberty are matters close to Maajid's heart and he is now a leading critic of his former Islamist ideological dogma, while remaining a Muslim. Maajid has become a prominent counter-extremism consultant and a regular writer, debater and sought after public commentator. In this regard, he has been called upon by heads of state, statesmen and international bodies for his professional opinion.

Nawaz is Co-Founder and Chairman of Quilliam " a globally active think tank focusing on matters of Integration, Citizenship & Identity, Religious Freedom, Extremism and Immigration. He is also the 2015 Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency of Hampstead and Kilburn in North-West London, where his party came in third by 841 votes in 2010, just 1.6%, making this one of the closest election contests in the country.

An advocate of peaceful discourse, education, and tolerance Maajid shares with audiences his deep understanding of radical Islamist thought, and how his journey toward democratic awakening has inspired his beliefs on how we can, and should, move away from extremism around the globe.

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  Islam is native to the west: Nawaz

  (9News) – If western nations recognise that Islam is native to the west, they can fully address the problem of Islamic extremism, a prominent British Muslim activist says.

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  Former Islamic radical Maajid Nawaz is fighting to end the scourge of identity politics

  (News.com) – Sitting in a prison cell in Egypt, a young English-born Islamic radical, Maajid Nawaz, was able to think long and hard about his extremist values.

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  The Great Hypocritical Muslim Cover-Up

  (The Daily Beast) – ‘World Hijab Day’ is worse than passé. It’s time to make the veil a matter of choice in Iran and Saudi Arabia, for starters.

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  How to Beat Islamic State

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Islam is a religion, and like any other faith, it is internally diverse. Islamism, by contrast, is the desire to impose a single version of Islam on an entire society. Islamism is not Islam, but it is an offshoot of Islam. It is Muslim theocracy.

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  A call for peace from future leaders

  (The Jakarta Post) – This year’s One Young World Summit was the most global ever with 1,300 delegates from 196 countries voicing their concern in unison about real issues, including ongoing terrorism attacks around the world.

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  Donald Trump is radicalizing his followers: Terrorism expert explains how Trump is marching Americans towards extremism

  (Salon) – Maajid Nawaz says Trump’s supporters may “end up joining fascist or far-right groups” if The Donald doesn’t deliver

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  Watch An Expert Push Back On Fox’s Advocacy Of Muslim Profiling

  (Media Matters) – Counter-Extremist Activist Maajid Nawaz: “Ethnic Profiling And Profiling For Overt Signs Of Religiosity Will Actually Miss The Target”

  Click here to watch the video.

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  Why ISIS Just Loves Profiling

  (The Daily Beast) – The terrorists of the so-called Islamic State can always stay two blood-soaked steps ahead of your religious and racial profiles. Watch behavior, not beards and burqas.

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  3 Clear Steps to Collaborate with People You Strongly Disagree with

  (Big Think) – The current state of social/political debate and discourse leaves a lot to be desired. In this Big Think Edge preview, Islamic reform activist Maajid Nawaz describes how to build a successful, respectful dialogue that can serve an actual purpose and spur progress.

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  Former radical Islamist speaks out: Terrorism has ‘become a brand’

  (Today) – In Paris, Maajid Nawaz, a former radical Muslim who is now a British activist and founder of the Quilliam Foundation, tells TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie that “terrorism has atomized” across the world and that “it’s reached the stage where it’s become a brand.” He says that non-radical Muslims should “stand up in solidarity” to combat radical Islam: “We have to have these conversations.”

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  Maajid Nawaz’s Insights on the the Terror Strikes in Paris

  (The Daily Beast) – Less than a day after the West celebrated symbolic victories over ISIS, the terrorists have shown in Paris how far their cancer has metastasized.

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  The British Left’s Hypocritical Embrace of Islamism

  By Maajid Nawaz

  Anti-extremist campaigner Maajid Nawaz embodies grievances that liberals claim to care about. So why is he being viciously attacked by them?

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  Anti-Isis YouTube video aims to counter terror group’s social media campaigns

  (The Guardian) – Quilliam Foundation’s #notanotherbrother campaign highlights the human cost on Muslim communities of exposure to Islamist extremism

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  Wimbledon Steps Up Security After Tunisia Horror While ISIS Marked

  Security is being beefed up at Wimbledon amid fears that the iconic tournament could be targeted by copycat terror attacks following the atrocities in Tunisia, France and Kuwait.

  Britain could face a terror strike at anytime, a former Muslim extremist warned, as Prime Minister David Cameron told the public to beware that Britain faces a "severe terrorist threat".

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  A Liberal Democrat Just Called Two CAIR Officials ‘Insane’

  (The Algemeiner) – The National Union of Students, a confederation of 600 student unions representing more than 95 percent of all higher education unions in the United Kingdom, passed a motion Tuesday to align with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign as part of a worldwide effort to boycott Israel.

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  Maajid Nawaz calls on David Cameron to create a ‘counter-extremism czar’

  (International Business Times) – “To make sure there is seamless policy co-ordination across government, [the czar] needs to be accountable under Downing Street, not different secretary of states – all doing something but not necessarily working together.”

  Nawaz, a former member of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, said the move should be near the top of Cameron’s agenda after entering Number 10.

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  Maajid Nawaz: British Campuses Have Been Infiltrated by Theocratic Fantasists

  Maajid Nawaz writes about the man called "Jihadi John." 

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  Please stop saying the Nice attacks have nothing to do with Islam

  (Telegraph) – In the wake of the Nice attacks people are already saying: “But the terrorist wasn’t pious. See! It has nothing to do with Islam.”

  Please stop.

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