Maajid Nawaz

Activist, Change Agent, Connector, Consultant, Idea generator, Social entrepreneur, Writer/Editor

@MaajidNawaz, Amnesty International adopted 'prisoner of conscience' in Egypt, Co-Founder and Executive Director of @QuilliamF, the world's first counter-extremism thinktank, and Founder of @KhudiPK, Pakistan's youth-led pro-democracy counter-extremism social movement. Maajid was formerly on the UK national leadership for the global Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT). Being involved in HT for almost 14 years, Maajid was a founding member of HT in Denmark and Pakistan and eventually served four years in an Egyptian prison for his activities, after being subjected to torture. In prison, Maajid gradually began changing his views until finally renouncing the Islamist ideology while remaining Muslim. Maajid now engages in counter-Islamist thought-generating, social-activism, writing, debating and media appearances. He encourages inclusive citizenship-based political participation of Muslims in the West, and aims to synergize a respect for human rights with the civic liberal imperative to defend those in danger of being stigmatized by extremists due to their beliefs and personal choices. Maajid has spoken at various fora internationally, ranging from universities across Pakistan to addressing the US Senate in Washington DC, and regularly comments on national and international news and newspapers. Maajid holds a BA (Hons) from London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in Arabic and Law, and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics (LSE). Maajid is a Fellow of The Royal Society for Arts (RSA), serves as an ambassador for the global Alliance of Youth Movements (AYM) and a proud father to his young son.

Citizenship, Extremism, identity, Integration, Islam, Islamism, Near & Middle East, Policy & Security, Social Activism