Why Maajid Nawaz needs to leave the Quilliam Foundation

The title may seem like a runaway fantasy, but hear me out. Maajid Nawaz needs to leave the think-tank he co-founded.

Committed to combating extremism, Quilliam’s primary objective ought to be on the ground, talking to British Muslims. It should be seeking to influence counter-extremism legislation but that must have significant input from Muslims themselves- not these “community leader” types like Mo Ansar, but Muslims from a diverse cross-section of the ummah.

Maajid Nawaz has no interest in this.

The Quilliam brand has unfortunately been tarnished. And despite Quilliam having excellent people involved in the think-tank- Haras Rafiq is genuinely committed to engaging with Muslims, and Usama Hasan and Farhana Mayer produce innovative Islamic theological thought that seek to liberalise the Muslim mind.

Maajid Nawaz is presumably interested in weeding out radical Islamist terror but he does nothing substantial on the ground to combat it.

A usual routine emerges. A terror attack occurs, and Nawaz appears on one of CNN, Fox News or the BBC. He talks about his story, and that there is a denial of an extremism problem. Whilst white campus liberals engage in denialism, this does not seem to be the case of ordinary Muslims.

What else does he do? Well, he writes a few books. I have read both. “Radical” is an impressive autobiography. “Islam and the Future of Tolerance” with Sam Harris was a waste of my money and was a nice profit-opportunity for Nawaz and a profile-raiser. But interest in Islamic reform, which is oft ill-defined? Definitely not. Sam Harris is frowned upon by Muslim communities. And why am I surprised? Harris said:

“To speak specifically of our problem with the Muslim world, we are meandering into a genuine clash of civilizations, and we’re deluding ourselves with euphemisms. We’re talking about Islam being a religion of peace that’s been hijacked by extremists. If ever there were a religion that’s not a religion of peace, it is Islam.”

Practicing Muslims are resentful to that statement. And it is not hard to see why, when he insists their religion is not peaceful but inherently violent. Nawaz’ “dialogue” was an opportunity to challenge Harris on these quotes. But he did not. It was a second-rate chinwag where Harris was not challenged. They nodded along and humoured one another, whilst the predominantly atheistic audiences swallowed it up and bought it in the masses. Nawaz’ profile rises, his bank balance does too, and yet the resentment among Muslims he is supposedly trying to reach-out too soars. Nawaz’s appearance at a non-believers conference in Canada is also something to note. Whilst being an atheist is a perfectly acceptable position to take, again, if you want to pretend to be the great Muslim reformer, atheists who generally hate religion, including that of Islam, are not the wisest people to be hanging around. And I think most non-believers would accept that too.

If you are genuine about Muslim reform, the people you tend not to go to in the first instance, are the people who are hostile to Islam and whom Muslims are hostile to as a result. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Sam Harris are the usual suspects. I find their dialogue to be interesting and it is good listening. However, don’t kid yourself that this is going to bring about some progressive revolution within Islam. In order for that to occur, you need firstly, practicing Muslims leading the reform. Hamza Yusuf, Usama Hassan, Tariq Ramadan are scholars whose work is mightily impressive and who acknowledge a problem. Is the typical Muslim going to listen to Yusuf or Ramadan, or is she going to listen to Maajid Nawaz, whose reputation has been tarnished?

Quilliam has innovative thinkers and activists. Haras Rafiq who is the Managing Director is excellent and reaches out to those historically hostile toward the organisation. Hasan, Mayer and Adam Deen grapple with Islamic texts and engage in a plurality of approaches. They should be the future of the Quilliam Foundation and will earn more respect among Muslim communities. However, whilst Maajid Nawaz still hangs around there will be no real progress.

Maajid Nawaz writes well, speaks well and his backstory is fascinating. He started out with genuine noble intentions, but celebrity seems to have caught the better of him. He resides in the publisher’s office, the conference hall and behind a mobile phone engaging with social media, but crucially will not be seen in the mosque or the community centre, which are the places where that Muslim reform might be. He must remain in public life for he is a thought-provoker, but the façade of Muslim reform must finally be dropped.