I really didn't grow up religious, and I didn't grow up acknowledging my Muslim identity. For me, I was a British Pakistani.
— Maajid Nawaz
After much soul searching I was able to renounce my past Islamist ideology, challenging everything I was once prepared to die for.
There are no globalized, youth-led, grassroots social movements advocating for democratic culture across Muslim-majority societies. There is no equivalent of Al-Qaeda without the terrorism.
In Bosnia, the case was there were white, blond-haired, blue-eyed Muslims who were being slaughtered and identified as Muslims. That really touched me.
Preying on the grievances of disaffected young men is the bedrock of Islamism.
Ironically, xenophobic nationalists are utilizing the benefits of globalization.
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.
Islamism is not Islam. Islamism is the politicisation of Islam, the desire to impose a version of this ancient faith over society.
I can now say that the more I learnt about Islam, the more tolerant I became.
