The Salman Rushdie Fatwa: My Radicalisation

Thirty years ago, I was a young law student at Southampton University. I was in my second year of study and was beginning to be ‘radicalised’, as it were. University was my first experience of politics. Student politics is an odd beast. Most people – normal people, that is – don’t really spend their time
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Next In Q: Video Podcast – People of the Book: An Interfaith Dialogue

Dr Usama Hasan has co-written a fascinating trialogue which explores the role of scripture in illuminating the lives of Jews, Christians and Muslims. The resultant work, People of the Book: An Interfaith Dialogue about How Jews, Christians and Muslims Understand Their Sacred Scriptures, can be purchased at Amazon (US and UK). To mark the launch of
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How should we oppose extremism?

The term “Extremism” has always been somewhat vacuous. Its use is so widespread, and its deployment by some so dubious, that it often seems it has no serious substance at all. But while there are far too many instances in which ignorant or politically motivated individuals degrade the term’s integrity, there also have always been
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From the Prophet to the King

An Islamic Friday sermon on the universal equality of humanity: delivered on and marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day PART 1 of the sermon All Praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds. Blessings and Peace be upon the Messengers of God.  As tens of millions of people around our world marked Martin Luther King
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Hamas and Salafi Jihadi Groups

What has been the nature of relations between Hamas and Salafi jihadi groups? The question is worth examining because Hamas is sometimes equated with the latter ideologically while on other occasions a strict dichotomy of enmity and opposition is painted between Hamas and the Salafi jihadi groups. In fact, some nuances emerge depending on location.
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It is not just Brexit that feeds the UK’s far right

This article originally appeared on CNN The deep social and political divisions exposed by the UK’s Brexit vote present both an opportunity for the British far right — as well as being a challenge to it. Indeed, only this week, Neil Basu the head of London’s Metropolitan Police’s counterterrorism operations, said that Brexit had the “potential
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The UK’s Struggles with Far Right Extremism

Earlier this month I wrote about how terrorism from the far right has grown in the United States. My research indicated to me with alarming clarity that this phenomenon does not stop on American shores – the UK is also facing a galvanised extreme right. On December 6th 2018,  the North East Counter Terrorism Unit
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Response to Home Affairs Committee call for evidence

We publish below Quilliam’s response to the Home Affairs Committee call for evidence, which asks in particular for our views on impact of official adoption of a definition of Islamophobia, in the context of the report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims calling for the adoption of an official working definition of Islamophobia. We
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The Far Right’s Roots in Europe

In recent weeks I have addressed the rise of the extreme right in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In both countries, we are witnessing the proliferation of right-wing organisations that are committed to visiting terror on innocent civilians. To name a few, these groups include the Rise Against Movement, the Atomwaffen Division,
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Over-Moralization of Immigration Is Bad for All Parties

Immigration is shaping up to be the defining issue of this decade. After the refugee crisis following the Arab Spring uprisings in the early 2010s, native resentment of generous immigration policies in the West are now front-and-center in our discourse. Research and polls suggest that this sentiment is the single largest contributor to the populist
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