Pakistan Universities' Tour

Pakistan Universities’ Tour

Between 21st April and 21st May 2009, Quilliam conducted a series of student training workshops and a nationwide tour of university campuses across Pakistan. During the course of the tour, Quilliam Director Maajid Nawaz delivered a series of lectures to 21 public and private universities across all four provinces, addressing over 5,000 students from a variety of backgrounds. Talking of his personal experiences within an Islamist organization and the journey he undertook to eventually recant his ideas, Maajid engaged with a diverse array of students to discuss the threats from extremism that loom over Pakistan today.

At each of these events students were asked to fill out voluntary questionnaires regarding their views on extremism, nationalism, religion and politics. The insights gained through the analysis of thousands of these questionnaires were later highlighted within the Quilliam publication Pakistan: Identity, Ideology and Beyond.

The universities’ tour attracted a vast number of student volunteers to our cause, many of whom went on to form the backbone of all our future initiatives in Pakistan.