Maajid Nawaz: I was a Radical Islamist who hated all of you...

[shaykh]

Its actually an interesting article...

I find his position somewhat confusing though...he constantly refers to political Islam being the root problem...its hard to remove one from the other...Islam is political by text...and I don't disagree with his old organisation HT's idea of Islam and politics being intertwined...

I wonder what Majid's own conception is of Islam is...he was championing gay rights most recently on question time which again contradicts Islamic thought...

The article however does focus on some interesting topics...the guy was quite big in HT...he was tortured in Egypt which obviously had a profound effect on him...

I don't think hes insincere...he believes in his position which has naturally provoked many because it opposes their ideas...now do people agree with his assertion that ideas like HT's create hate, or use charisma to appeal to disenfranchised youth?...

I personally have no issue with the organisations right to disseminate its views...whilst it does create a them an us mentality the link to violence is not substantiated and as a society based on freedom of expression there is no basis to prevent the organisation from existing or discussing its views...

Hes a very hated figure in the Muslim community and its easy to understand why...but it does take a lot of guts to do what hes done in many ways...

MOST people find it hard to imagine stabbing another human being, let alone almost decapitating someone with a meat cleaver.

To do so in broad daylight and in the middle of the road, while asking passers-by to take pictures, simply beggars belief.

Few can understand how the British jihadists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale could be filled with such hate.

I'm ashamed to say I can. For I was similar to them once.

I spent 13 years inside Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), the global Islamist organisation that first spawned al-Muhajiroun, the banned Islamist terrorist organisation founded by Omar Bakri Muhammad and Anjem Choudary.

Bakri and Choudary both knew Adebolajo, a 28-year-old who was raised as a Christian. Like Adebolajo, I was raised in Essex in an educated, middle-class and well integrated family.

Again, like Adebolajo, I went on to further education. He dropped out, while I gained a law and Arabic degree from The School of African and Oriental Studies and a Masters in political theory from the London School of Economics.

THREE MORE ARRESTED OVER ATTACK ON UK SOLDIER

(The belief that all radicalised young Muslims must lack jobs or are socially awkward loners is a dangerous misconception. I did not lack career opportunities, nor did I lack friends or girlfriends.)

And I, too, was caught up in the aftermath of a Jihadist street murder in which a man was killed with a machete. It was 1995 and I was president of the Student Union at Newham College in East Ham. The union was nothing but a front for HT. We siphoned off money to our cause, giving lectures and preaching anywhere and everywhere - the street, the yard and the canteen, where I would stand on the tables and spout hate.

We were encouraged by Omar Bakri to operate like street gangs and we did, prowling London, fighting Indian Sikhs in the west and African Christians in the east. We intimidated Muslim women until they wore the hijab and we thought we were invincible.

And when an acquaintance of mine, Saeed Nur, slashed a Nigerian student, Ayotunde Obanubi, shouting the same battle cry as the Woolwich attackers: "Allahu Akbar" - God is Great - I watched him die and felt nothing. I did not incite the murder but I did nothing to stop it.

So how did it reach that point? And what turns a tiny minority of ordinary, young Muslim men into fanatical, cold-blooded killers? For my own part, once I became a teenager I experienced severe and violent racism. The neo-Nazi paramilitary group Combat 18 began to target me and my friends. On a few occasions I was forced to watch as white friends were stabbed merely for being associated with me.

At 15, I was falsely arrested at gunpoint for playing with a plastic gun. This was the early 1990s, genocide was unfolding in Bosnia, while the international community failed to act. Add this to my own internal identity crisis - I didn't know if I was British or Pakistani, Muslim or agnostic - and my disenfranchisement from mainstream society was complete.

However, it's what happened next that sealed my fate. I needed someone who could guide a broken and confused 16-year-old. Instead, I came across a charismatic recruiter espousing HT's cause who sold me the ideology of Islamism in the name of Islam.

But Islamism is not Islam. Islamism is the politicisation of Islam, the desire to impose a version of this ancient faith over society. To achieve this, Islamism uses political grievances, such as mine, to alienate and then provide an alternative sense of belonging to vulnerable young Muslims. Preying on the grievances of disaffected young men is the bedrock of Islamism.

Like all bigoted ideologies, it plays on the identity politics game, creating a "them and us", in order to provide a home for the "us" against the alien "other" and control the community by acting as the sole "representative" of Muslims.

One of the Woolwich jihadists ranted to onlookers: "You" have occupied "Our" lands. Spreading this sense of exclusive Muslim victimhood is crucial to the radicalisation process. I continued to spread hate for many years after Obanubi's murder, co-founding branches in Denmark and Pakistan where we targeted army officers in order to incite military coups.

I was aiming to do the same thing in Egypt in 2001, when I was arrested and tortured. Eventually I was convicted of membership of a banned organisation and sentenced to five years in Mazra Tora prison, where deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak is held.

It was then I began to sift through my layers of hatred and ignorance. I also encountered the kindness of strangers, especially Amnesty International whose campaign to win my release was led by an octogenarian in England I'd never met.

After much soul searching I was able to renounce my past Islamist ideology, challenging everything I was once prepared to die for.

De-radicalisation begins by breaking down the logic that once seemed unassailable and rethinking what you are fighting for and why. Hard to do when Islamists and Islamophobes feed off each other's hateful cliches.

We must not blame the security services for what happened. As long as a man can pick up a knife, these murders will be impossible to predict. The only way to try and prevent it happening again is to give those angry young Muslims another outlet. I have founded Khudi, in Pakistan, a youth movement which tries to counter extremist ideology through healthy discussion and debate.

We need a similar grassroots movement in Britain. The only way we can challenge Islamism is to engage with one another. We need to make it as abhorrent as racism has become today. Only then will we stem the tide of angry young Muslims who turn to hate. Only then will they stop listening to people like Omar Bakri Muhammad and Anjem Choudary.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/i-...hated-all-of-you/story-fni0fiyv-1226652515525

 

[irfan]

Another one sucking at the teat of the British taxpayer.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I don't really disagree with anything much he's said there having encountered HT students in my time, but I've not really seen much evidence that he's anything other than a self-publicist since his radical turnaround. I know it sounds cynical but has he landed a book deal yet?

 

[KingKhanWC]

He was funded by the British government so helps to spread their narrative.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

He was funded by the British government so helps to spread their narrative.

Lots of Muslim groups (the East London Mosque, Islamic Forum of Europe, Birmingham's Green Lane and Central mosques etc) have taken money from the government - I guess they spread Govt. narrative too.

 

[the Great Khan]

Another one sucking at the teat of the British taxpayer.

i have nothing further to add..brilliant..lol

 

[KingKhanWC]

Lots of Muslim groups (the East London Mosque, Islamic Forum of Europe, Birmingham's Green Lane and Central mosques etc) have taken money from the government - I guess they spread Govt. narrative too.

Quiliam is a political think tank not a charity to help the aged. The government would not fund a political think tank if they their views did not fit.

 

[Pakistani tigers]

Majid Nawaz goes from one extreme to another. He is an apologist now for sure. How can you combat extremism without the Western powers admitting that Muslims are bearing the brunt of illegal wars. These grievances and racism lead to a minority of men taking violent action (no matter how unjustified and grisly). The vast majority of us still have grievances but have learnt to engage in debate.

Majid just wants us to bow down to the West and be apologists!

 

[shaykh]

He was funded by the British government so helps to spread their narrative.

Well I don't think its all greed...I do get the impression he believes what he says hence the British fund him rather than the other way round...

Quilliam is for the most part an apologist think tank...I do agree...it places a lot of emphasis on the faults of Muslims rather than balancing it out and placing blame at the hands of the British government...

He spoke of creating new narratives for disenfranchised Muslim youth...he should have followed by attacking the British government for creating a vacuum for radicals to exploit...

 

[shaykh]

Lots of Muslim groups (the East London Mosque, Islamic Forum of Europe, Birmingham's Green Lane and Central mosques etc) have taken money from the government - I guess they spread Govt. narrative too.

Funding a mosque is different to funding a think tank...although one can argue that mosques receiving funding feel compelled to be non controversial and secular out of fear of losing funding...its hush money...

 

[shaykh]

I don't really disagree with anything much he's said there having encountered HT students in my time, but I've not really seen much evidence that he's anything other than a self-publicist since his radical turnaround. I know it sounds cynical but has he landed a book deal yet?

I believe hes already released a book...

Radical: My Journey from Islamist Extremism to a Democratic Awakening

Ed Husain showed that moving away from radicalism can certainly bring about significant financial gain...this isn't to say that these are their sole motivations but its certainly a profitable market now...

 

[KB-24]

What a load of rubbish lol ... Just another apologist!

 

[KingKhanWC]

Well I don't think its all greed...I do get the impression he believes what he says hence the British fund him rather than the other way round...

Quilliam is for the most part an apologist think tank...I do agree...it places a lot of emphasis on the faults of Muslims rather than balancing it out and placing blame at the hands of the British government...

He spoke of creating new narratives for disenfranchised Muslim youth...he should have followed by attacking the British government for creating a vacuum for radicals to exploit...

I've spoke to him so I agree it's more than greed, he does seem to believe what he says. What he says fits right with the governments narrative of placing all the blame on extremism by Muslims without ever mentioning foreign policy and the role of the intelligence services.

 

[shaykh]

I've spoke to him so I agree it's more than greed, he does seem to believe what he says. What he says fits right with the governments narrative of placing all the blame on extremism by Muslims without ever mentioning foreign policy and the role of the intelligence services.

Out of interest did you tackle him on these points?...did he comment on this countries hypocrisy regarding the funding and support of radicalism abroad?...

 

[KingKhanWC]

Out of interest did you tackle him on these points?...did he comment on this countries hypocrisy regarding the funding and support of radicalism abroad?...

He's like a lot of posters on here, diverting the questions to his well rehearsed story lines, always turning back to 'it's the Muslim's responsibility to change regardless of what the government is doing'. I'm guessing he's received government training on how to deal with tough questions. I think recently he has become more open to such issues, perhaps looking for more book buyers.

 

[GentleMan]

one day KKWC bro will also have a change in heart and will write a nice article talking of love peace and humanity. waiting for that day.

 

[shaykh]

He's like a lot of posters on here, diverting the questions to his well rehearsed story lines, always turning back to 'it's the Muslim's responsibility to change regardless of what the government is doing'. I'm guessing he's received government training on how to deal with tough questions. I think recently he has become more open to such issues, perhaps looking for more book buyers.

Well he has stated that this country needs to provide alternatives to radicalisation and isn't doing enough to tackle the growth of radicalism in an ideological sense...

This isn't entirely wrong but he leaves that point very vague...he would actually be viewed as more credible if he balanced his argument with criticism of the British establishment...

 

[KingKhanWC]

Admitted his most important issue with Iran is the lives of Israeli Jews

This man is a paid clown and white people believe him because he can pronounce Arabic words lol

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

LBC is a disgrace. All you have to do is look in the comments under their videos to see what kind of audience they cater.

 

[miandadrules]

Nawaz tells a xenophobic audience what they want to hear.

His criticisms of Islam as an ideology are probably valid, but just like his mentor, Sam Harris, he will seamlessly switch from Islam to Muslims.

Claims to push for Islamic reform but I’m not aware of any grassroots movement or projects he has to engage with your average British Muslims.

 

[KingKhanWC]

LBC is a disgrace. All you have to do is look in the comments under their videos to see what kind of audience they cater.

The UKIP clown is another one of their hosts and Trump called in once lol.

Just like the Sun and Daily Mail they cater for the underclass and racists. The thick people of the UK

 

[Robert]

I usually listen to him on a LBC.

 

[IMMY69]

I usually listen to him on a LBC.

As do I...
but my favourite is James O’Brien.

The beauty of LBC is that it has a cross section of presenters and hence listeners too.

 

[AdamM97]

Nawaz tells a xenophobic audience what they want to hear.

His criticisms of Islam as an ideology are probably valid, but just like his mentor, Sam Harris, he will seamlessly switch from Islam to Muslims.

Claims to push for Islamic reform but I’m not aware of any grassroots movement or projects he has to engage with your average British Muslims.

Spot on. I will never forget when Sam Harris defended the Al Shifa factory bombing and the bombings of Sudan by US forces even though it killed thousands of Sudanese children.

 

[Minnowbasher]

Hes a zionist funded Islamophobe.

 

[TSA321]

https://medium.com/@Reg_Left_Media/maajid-nawaz-and-his-crypto-muslim-fantasy-dcef93a189dd

 

[miandadrules]

Spot on. I will never forget when Sam Harris defended the Al Shifa factory bombing and the bombings of Sudan by US forces even though it killed thousands of Sudanese children.

Read his exchange with Chomsky.

You’ll see the difference between Harris and a true intellectual heavyweight.

 

[j_kazmi]

How to people know that he’s funded by a some higher power?

We’ve already had 2 people suggest he’s funded by two different governments. So which one is it?

If I say something that’s pro Islam then does that mean I’m Saudi funded?

 

[Down2Earth]

I have to admit it's really difficult to listen to this wanabe on the radio or TV

 

[IMMY69]

Listening to him now and have to say the bloke is really putting me off him.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

How to people know that he’s funded by a some higher power?

We’ve already had 2 people suggest he’s funded by two different governments. So which one is it?

If I say something that’s pro Islam then does that mean I’m Saudi funded?

Every blog, news section or channel has a clear agenda to push. Each.and.every.one.of.them. Be it BBC, CNN or RT.

Even posters in this very forum push their agendas. Ones whose parents live off PMLN's scraps would always talk against PTI and others (like me for example) who hate PMLN will always sing songs of IK.


Hollywood regularly makes a pro-Israel movie, bad guys in 70s/80s movies used to be Russians and these days are Arabs/Muslims and soon should be Chinese (good for us ).

The way Hinduvta-Indians push anti-Pak agenda is so blatant and ridiculous that it defies common sense.

Just a few years ago (pre NSA leaks) people defended with all the arguments that Google/Apple/MSoft were not stealing users' personal info and giving it to Gov/private companies.

You see a pattern? Of course this dude is funded.

 

[Knight_Rider]

I too was listening to Majid on LBC this morning, where he was ‘discussing’ How irani regime is the only force de-establising the whole middle east and what can be done to stop its agression.

I have to say it was cringeworthy to hear him butting half way in during other people’s responses, not letting anyone question the statements he was making. That guy isnt fit for the job and his program ratings must be very Low. Even Nigel Farrage is a better host than him.

May all what he has went through in his early days, he has lost his marbles for the rest of his life. LBC need to fond some better and more intelligent host to represent Muslim-Brit Asian segment.

 

[AdamM97]

Read his exchange with Chomsky.

You’ll see the difference between Harris and a true intellectual heavyweight.

I love Chomsky’s take on geo-politics and ’manufacturing consent’ but I don’t agree with him on socialism.

 

[Robert]

As do I...
but my favourite is James O’Brien.

The beauty of LBC is that it has a cross section of presenters and hence listeners too.

I like JOB. I like how he uses logic to make Brexiteers' heads explode.