Way Back From Islamism - Washington Institute For Near East Policy

11th July 2008 - Listen On-line

Maajid Nawaz delivered an elaborate explanation of the causes, characteristics, and attributes of modern day Islamism.

He spoke of the process of radicalisation, and his personal journey into Islamism and Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), as a youth from Essex who lived through certain experiences which made him feel a difference between him and wider society on the basis of race. But it was only when he met HT, that shaped the manner in which he looked at all problems through the lens of Islamist ideology.

He discussed that the grievances that he had, based on real problems were manipulated by the ideologues to present everything according to the meta-narrative of Islamists, which explained all problems according to its own ideology and created problems according to its own ideology even if there were none. Maajid began to embrace and propagate this ideology. Problems were manipulated and blind ideology put in its place. So Egypt may have been lead by a dictator, but it should replaced by the "Caliph" - who would rule the world till death!

He spoke of positive influences - his mother - other people - Muslims and, non-Muslims who helped him see through the meta-narrative and see things as they are - look at humans as humans first and foremost not as people upholding or opposing the Islamist ideology (whether they were Muslims or non-Muslims).

He also spoke of differentiating between genuine problems within our collective approaches to people, communities and Muslims in re-enforcing Islamist ideas and conspiracy theories and how to avoid them.

Maajid ended explaining the Quilliam Foundations efforts in countering Islamist ideology, from Islamic sources to demonstrate, Islamism as an irreligious manifestation of modernity - which started with the Muslim Brotherhood, became crystalized in HT, and created Jihadist movements and the al-Qaeda mind-set. Only through countering Islamism, developing a Western Islam that is at home here - in the West on the long run, can Islamist ideological be comprehensively defeated.

See Comments by Matthew Levitt here and Rapporteur Summary by Albar Sheikh available here and the video will be on this page shortly