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
cannot extremism hope online
We cannot hope to effectively counter extremism if we just focus on schools, universities and prisons: we need to take this online as well.
bigoted demands dominate extremism groups increase intolerant seeking society
Non-violent extremism is essentially the increase of intolerant and bigoted demands made by groups seeking to dominate society.
against extremism prejudice pretend tackle
The way to tackle Muslimphobia is to tackle prejudice against Muslims. What it is not is to pretend that Islamist extremism does not exist.
extremism fact groups minority muslim problem serious within
The fact is that there is a serious problem of extremism with minority groups within Muslim communities.
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.
campaigns early extremism health less sexual state
The British state already invests in early intervention campaigns in drug abuse and sexual health. Challenging extremism should be no less of a priority.
total
Islam will be what Muslims make of it. And it is the sum total of the interpretation that Muslims give to it.
ideology impose seeks society
Islamism is an ideology that seeks to impose any version of Islam over society.
I used to MC a bit when I was young - 14 or 15 years old.
east iraq threat west wider
The rise of ISIS in Iraq is a wider threat to the stability of the Middle East and the West than many realise.
discreet originally sanctuary tool western
Satire has been a sanctuary historically monopolized by progressives, originally used as a discreet tool against Western religious fundamentalism.
priority remain
Quilliam will remain a priority for me because its values shape my beliefs and outlook.
allowing cannot simply
Rather than allowing jihadists to shut down debate, it must proliferate so much that they simply cannot kill us all.
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.