QUILLIAM FOUNDATION: Radical – My Journey from Islamist Extremism to A Democratic Awakening is the story of a British-Pakistani born and raised in Essex, Maajid Nawaz, who was recruited into Islamism as a teenager. Abandoning his love of hip hop culture, he joined Hizb al-Tahrir, where he played a central role in the shaping and dissemination of an aggressive anti-West narrative, which included the creation of new international cells and the encouragement of military coups.
Arriving in Egypt the day before 9/11 to study as part of his Arabic and law degree, his Islamist views soon led to his arrest and incarceration. Whilst mixing with everyone from Sadat’s assassins to Liberal reformists, an intellectual transformation occurred and Amnesty International adopted him as a Prisoner of Conscience. Upon his release, Maajid renounced political Islamism, while remaining a Muslim, and now travels the world educating and inspiring young people about democracy through both Quilliam and Khudi. » | Thursday, July 05, 2012
