Maajid Nawaz
Maajid Nawaz
Maajid Usman Nawazis a British activist, author, columnist and politician. He was the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for London's Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in the 2015 general election. He is also the founding chairman of Quilliam, a counter-extremism think tank that seeks to challenge the narratives of Islamist extremists...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionActivist
calling cheeky ideal viewed
The cheeky ideal I am calling for is that Muslims should be viewed as equal citizens, nothing more and nothing less.
basis frivolous poking principle seem
Poking fun at other people's beliefs, while it may seem frivolous and offensive, is a non-negotiable right. It is a principle that underpins free speech, the basis for progress.
ideology impose seeks society
Islamism is an ideology that seeks to impose any version of Islam over society.
happened ideology
Back when I was an Islamist, I thought our ideology was like communism - and I still do. That makes me optimistic. Because what happened to communism? It was discredited as an idea. It lost.
empowers ethnic faith inclusive involves people promote united
In the United Kingdom, we need to promote an inclusive British identity that involves and empowers people from all ethnic and faith backgrounds.
arrest five happened
My arrest in Egypt happened in 2002, and I was convicted to five years as a political prisoner.
absence acceptance british harder increased lack muslims society sympathy tough understand
Increased sympathy for an Islamist cause, lack of integration, and the absence of acceptance of Muslims into British society makes it harder for Muslims to challenge Islamism and tough for non-Muslims to understand it.
expressing
Expressing myself through language was always something that I had had to learn to do more so than others.
encourage order
I think I would encourage leaders to start working with communities in order to inoculate angry, young teenagers.
based religion scripture whether
The conclusion that I have come to is that actually, no religion, whether it's Islam, Christianity or any idea based on scripture or texts, is a religion of 'anything,' really.
family outside raised
I was born and raised in Essex, just outside London, to a financially comfortable, well-educated Pakistani family.
became faith muslim politics somebody whose
I became, suddenly, not just a Muslim in faith. I became a Muslim in politics. Somebody whose politics were pre-defined by one interpretation of Islam.
broader concerns treated
Broader social concerns within Muslim communities, such as discrimination, integration or socio-economic disadvantages, should be treated distinctively and not as part of counterterrorism agenda, which has been counter-productive.
continued extremism increases information online prejudices seeking succumb
As people's opportunities to succumb to confirmation bias increases online - only seeking out information that confirms their prejudices - ignorance, extremism and close-mindedness have continued to rise unabated.