Quilliam e-update: November 2009 – January 2010

Research

Unlocking Al-Qaeda: Islamist extremism in British prisons by James Brandon was published in November 2009. Given that a number of prominent British terrorists, including Richard Reid (the ‘shoe bomber’), were inspired to turn to extreme versions of Islamism within British prison environments, this report provides a much-needed insight into the proliferation of Islamism within British prisons. It identifies a number of factors which have ‘pushed’ prisoners away from mainstream society and ‘pulled’ them into the world of Islamist extremism. The report asserts that this problem must be addressed directly via new initiatives aimed at minimizing religious discrimination and ‘de-programming’ radical extremists within the prison system. The report was covered on the front-page of the Sunday Times, on CNN and on the BBC’s Today programme.

A Brief History of Islamism by Ghaffar Hussain was published in January 2010. This is the first instalment of Quilliam’s concept series of publications. The pamphlet provides a thorough introduction to Islamist narratives, explaining how it has mutated and evolved from the Khawarij through to al Qaeda. Aimed at those who want an educated and informed insight into the ideological development of the Islamist doctrine, the booklet is to become an integral part of Quilliam’s Radicalization Awareness Programme (RAP).

 Roundtables

Quilliam held another successful roundtable for policymakers and specialists in January, this time entitled ‘Refuting Al-Qaeda: Former jihadists and the battle of ideologies’ and featuring Noman Benotman of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). This provided a fascinating insight into how and why the LIFG came to refute their previous jihadi ideology, and considered how the lessons learned from this turnaround are of huge value to current counter-extremism debates. 

Training and Outreach

Quilliam’s Outreach and Training Unit (QOTU) has had a busy few months delivering its Radicalization Awareness Programme (RAP) to a wide range of stakeholders, including Westminster Council and West Mercia Police.  Talks and training programmes have also been presented at a variety of universities and schools around the UK. Quilliam co-directors and QOTU’s Head have addressed student audiences at the Universities of Cambridge, Leeds and Manchester as well as City University. QOTU trainers have also delivered talks in Highgate School, North London, Copland Community School in Wembley and Westminster School. At the grassroots, QOTU trainer Ishtiaq Hussain delivered training to young Muslim leaders at an al-Khoei organized event and spoke to an audience of 60 police officers at Holocaust Memorial Centre, whilst co-Director Ed Husain was a key note speaker at a community event organized by Staffordshire Police in Burton-upon-Trent.

Talks and Conferences

Quilliam continues to play a leading advisory role, both to policy-makers and civil society, and has participated in a number of talks and conferences in the UK and abroad.

Maajid Nawaz also spoke about radicalization in prisons at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, at King’s College, London in December.  In November, Ed Husain followed up Quilliam’s drafted evidence to the government’s ‘Prevent’ initiative with an oral submission constituting part of the same inquiry. Maajid Nawaz was also invited to speak at a lunchtime discussion at the Legatum Institute, on ‘Countering Radicalisation’ and a conference on ‘Understanding Islamism’ at the prestigious Wilton Park. 

Maajid Nawaz also travelled to Sweden in November to speak at a de-radicalization conference attended by analysts from the European Security Services and a number of Swedish ministry officials.

 
Media

Quilliam maintains a strong relationship with the media on both a national and global level.  Our press releases, articles, letters and broadcasts aim to inform and shape current progressive discourses on extremism, while challenging those that are harmful or unproductive. Quilliam staff continue to play a prominent role in a number of reports by high-profile organizations such as Amnesty International and contribute on a regular basis to The Guardian, The Sun, the Associated Press and the BBC amongst others media outlets. A complete list of all media activities and appearances can be found here.

International (Global Affairs Unit)

As well as continuing to receive extensive coverage within the national and international media, Quilliam has organized a host of events in Pakistan in order to establish itself as a dynamic counter-extremism force in the region.

In November, Quilliam hosted a one-day NGO training workshop in Lahore, Pakistan, which was attended by over 40 senior staff and directors from NGOs in the Punjab and the North West Frontier Province region. This culminated in the drawing up of an action plan for future collaboration in an effort to enhance the country’s counter-extremism initiatives.

In February, co-Director Maajid Nawaz participated in the Pakistan Young Leaders Conference, an initiative organized by the National Union of Pakistan Students and Alumni. First, he spoke at the University of Oxford’s Pakistan Society about his involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir, then later travelled to Islamabad to contribute to the second component of the conference. This event brought together Pakistanis from an array of international universities and aimed to provide a platform for students to discuss the country’s future and construct policy recommendations to present to government.

Quilliam continues to engage directly with Pakistan’s younger generations and has hosted an extensive workshop series for university students across all four provinces of Pakistan. We strive to educate and empower young people to challenge extremist narratives and plan to launch a series of exciting initiatives that will galvanize our body of student supporters to spearhead a citizen-led social movement that will popularize counter-extremism messages across Pakistan. Click here for an overview of the project.

Other

In January 2010, Quilliam appointed Iqbal Wahhab OBE as the new chair of Quilliam’s Advisory Board.

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