Quilliam Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Quilliam is a London
-based think tank
that focuses on "counter-extremism
", specifically Islamism
, which they argue is the cause of Muslim terrorism. They lobby government and public institutions for more nuanced policies regarding Islam
and the need for greater democracy in the Muslim world. According to founder Maajid Nawaz
, "We wish to raise awareness around Islamism"; also "I want to demonstrate how the Islamist ideology is incompatible with Islam. Secondly...develop a Western Islam that is at home in Britain and in Europe... reverse radicalization by taking on their arguments and countering them."
The organization opposes any Islamist ideology, and champions freedom of expression. The critique of Islamist ideology by its founders Maajid Nawaz
, Rashaad Zaman Ali, and Ed Husain
is, in part, based on their personal experiences.
, Ed Husain
and Rashad Zaman Ali. Both Ali and Nawaz are former members of the UK branch of the international Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir
, and Husain studied with the group or group members.
Quilliam takes its name from the Islamic activist Abdullah Quilliam, a 19th century British convert to Islam
who was influential in advancing knowledge of the religion in Great Britain
, and who gained converts through literary works and charitable institutions he founded. The name is controversial given the fact that Quilliam was an advocate of the Ottoman Caliphate
and believed in the ideas of a united Islamic nation, while the Quilliam Foundation was set up to oppose the resurgence of the Caliphate.
Quilliam argues that Islam is just a religion, not a political religion nor an ideology and that “Islam is not Islamism.”
Quilliam argues that “[Islamists] are extreme because of their rigidity in understanding politics”.
More recent information about Quilliam's goals, available on its website, states:
To date the organization's goals have been mainly communicated through publishing reports, involvement in the media through taking part in interviews and discussions across Europe and the Middle East and through its 'Outreach and Training' unit which delivers a 'radicalisation awareness programme', a training course intended to develop students' understanding of:
, arguing that "Geert Wilders is undoubtedly an ill-informed, hate-driven bigot with many unpleasant views but he is not directly inciting violence[...] "We therefore challenge Geert Wilders to an open debate in which we will argue that Islam is compatible with secular democracy and that, contrary to what he apparently believes, Muslims are not a threat to Europe and its values.”
or burka
.
Ed Husain (Co-Director and Co-Founder)
Maajid Nawaz (Co-Director and Co-Founder)
Rashad Zaman Ali (Although Ali helped to set up Quilliam, he is no longer linked to the organisation, and now works for an organisation called 'Centri'.)
Quilliam is organised into four units: a 'Research and Policy Unit', an 'Outreach' unit, a 'Training and Consultancy Unit' and a 'South Asia Unit' (previously known as 'Global Affairs Unit').
Ishtiaq Hussain
, a Senior Trainer, left the organisation in 2009 to join central government.
, Dr Musharraf Hussain Al-Azhari, Dr Catherine Fieschi, Canon Dr Giles Fraser
, David Goodhart
, Michael Gove
MP, Dr David Green, Sheikh Dr. Ali al-Saleh al Najafi and Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui
. The chair of Quilliam's advisory board is a prominent restauranteer, Iqbal Wahhab
.
, Inayat Bunglawala
, Ziauddin Sardar
, who formerly criticised Quilliam but has since sided with Maajid Nawaz during a debate with Tariq Ramadan
broadcast on Press TV
, Yahya Birt and Seumas Milne
(The Guardian
).
In an open letter to the Guardian, Anas al-Tikriti, Yvonne Ridley
, Ihtisham Hibatullah, Ismail Patel
, and Roshan Salih wrote:
Early criticism of Quilliam alleged a lack of originality, while others invaded the privacy of the Quilliam Foundation's founders by reproducing private photographs of them. One journalist at the Guardian wrote in 2007 that "On blogs and among many Muslims", co-founder Ed Husain "has been condemned as a government stooge, an MI5 agent" and even an apostate from Islam.
Seumas Milne
argued that “all three are straight out of the cold war defectors' mould trading heavily on their former associations and travelling rapidly in a conservative direction”.
Quilliam openly acknowledges the funding that it receives from the public sector, and makes its financial records publicly available.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
that focuses on "counter-extremism
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
", specifically Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
, which they argue is the cause of Muslim terrorism. They lobby government and public institutions for more nuanced policies regarding Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and the need for greater democracy in the Muslim world. According to founder Maajid Nawaz
Maajid Nawaz
Maajid Nawaz is a British Pakistani and former member of the Islamic political group Hizb ut-Tahrir. He holds a B.A. from London University's School of Oriental and African Studies and a M.Sc. in Political Theory from the London School of Economics...
, "We wish to raise awareness around Islamism"; also "I want to demonstrate how the Islamist ideology is incompatible with Islam. Secondly...develop a Western Islam that is at home in Britain and in Europe... reverse radicalization by taking on their arguments and countering them."
The organization opposes any Islamist ideology, and champions freedom of expression. The critique of Islamist ideology by its founders Maajid Nawaz
Maajid Nawaz
Maajid Nawaz is a British Pakistani and former member of the Islamic political group Hizb ut-Tahrir. He holds a B.A. from London University's School of Oriental and African Studies and a M.Sc. in Political Theory from the London School of Economics...
, Rashaad Zaman Ali, and Ed Husain
Ed Husain
Mohammed Mahbub Husain is the author of The Islamist, a book about Islamic fundamentalism, and an account of his five years as an Islamist activist. Husain also helped to create, with Maajid Nawaz, the counter-extremism organisation the Quilliam Foundation. He is currently at senior fellow at the...
is, in part, based on their personal experiences.
Name
The organization was originally named the Quilliam Foundation but later rebranded as simply Quilliam. The think tank was founded by Maajid NawazMaajid Nawaz
Maajid Nawaz is a British Pakistani and former member of the Islamic political group Hizb ut-Tahrir. He holds a B.A. from London University's School of Oriental and African Studies and a M.Sc. in Political Theory from the London School of Economics...
, Ed Husain
Ed Husain
Mohammed Mahbub Husain is the author of The Islamist, a book about Islamic fundamentalism, and an account of his five years as an Islamist activist. Husain also helped to create, with Maajid Nawaz, the counter-extremism organisation the Quilliam Foundation. He is currently at senior fellow at the...
and Rashad Zaman Ali. Both Ali and Nawaz are former members of the UK branch of the international Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Sunni. pan-Islamic political organisation but keeps it open for all including shias,some of its beliefs are against sunni school of thought, whose goal is for all Muslim countries to unify as an Islamic state or caliphate ruled by Islamic law and with a caliph...
, and Husain studied with the group or group members.
Quilliam takes its name from the Islamic activist Abdullah Quilliam, a 19th century British convert to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
who was influential in advancing knowledge of the religion in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and who gained converts through literary works and charitable institutions he founded. The name is controversial given the fact that Quilliam was an advocate of the Ottoman Caliphate
Ottoman Caliphate
The Ottoman Caliphate, under the Ottoman Dynasty of the Ottoman Empire inherited the responsibility of the Caliphate from the Mamluks of Egypt....
and believed in the ideas of a united Islamic nation, while the Quilliam Foundation was set up to oppose the resurgence of the Caliphate.
Terminology
Quilliam defines Islamism in the following terms:“It is the belief that Islam is a political ideology, as well as a faith. It is a modernist claim that political sovereignty belongs to God, that the Shari'ah should be used as state law, that Muslims form a political rather than a religious bloc around the world and that it is a religious duty for all Muslims to create a political entity that is governed as such. Islamism is a spectrum, with Islamists disagreeing over how they should bring their ‘Islamic’ state into existence. Some Islamists seek to engage with existing political systems, others reject the existing systems as illegitimate but do so non-violently, and others seek to create an 'Islamic state' through violence. Most Islamists are socially modern but others advocate a more retrograde lifestyle. Islamists often have contempt for Muslim scholars and sages and their traditional institutions; as well as a disdain for non-Islamist Muslims and the West.”
Quilliam argues that Islam is just a religion, not a political religion nor an ideology and that “Islam is not Islamism.”
Quilliam argues that “[Islamists] are extreme because of their rigidity in understanding politics”.
Objectives
A policy proposal published for the British government and journalists at the time of Quilliam's launch suggested establishing rehabilitation centres in which extremists could be deradicalised, based on the success of Egyptian and Saudi programmes of this kind. These centres would expose extremists and terrorists who wish to leave their organisations to the work of scholars whose work has been recognized as sound and legitimate.More recent information about Quilliam's goals, available on its website, states:
Extremism, a prelude to terrorism, cannot be contained by Muslims alone. Not least because religious rigidity and extremism are products of the failures of wider society to foster a shared sense of belonging and to advance liberal democratic values among all sections of society. That said, we believe a more self-critical approach must be adopted by Muslim leaders to free communities from Westophobic ideological influences, escape social insularity and facilitate the organic growth of Western Islam.
Quilliam seeks to challenge what we think, and the way we think. It aims to generate creative thought paradigms through informed and inclusive discussion to counter the Islamist ideology behind terrorism, whilst simultaneously providing evidence-based recommendations to governments for related policy measures.
To date the organization's goals have been mainly communicated through publishing reports, involvement in the media through taking part in interviews and discussions across Europe and the Middle East and through its 'Outreach and Training' unit which delivers a 'radicalisation awareness programme', a training course intended to develop students' understanding of:
* The difference between Islam as a faith and Islamism as a radicalizing political ideology which justifies violence
* The different pathways into radicalization
* A detailed explanation of the process of radicalization - the key causes of it and how it manifests itself
* A thorough understanding of Islamist paradigms and extremists' propaganda
* An exposition of the political narrative and manipulation of grievances which are exploited and used to groom vulnerable individuals
* The cultivation of a climate which provides support for political violence
* Explanation of the contextual nature of Islamist political ideas – as a modern and totalitarian manipulation of traditional religious ideas
* A comprehensive ideological and theological refutation of Islamist thought providing a counter-narrative – for those who need to engage directly
Challenging Dutch Politician Geert Wilders
In February and October 2009, Quilliam publicly confronted the Dutch politician Geert WildersGeert Wilders
Geert Wilders is a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom , the third-largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives...
, arguing that "Geert Wilders is undoubtedly an ill-informed, hate-driven bigot with many unpleasant views but he is not directly inciting violence[...] "We therefore challenge Geert Wilders to an open debate in which we will argue that Islam is compatible with secular democracy and that, contrary to what he apparently believes, Muslims are not a threat to Europe and its values.”
Hijab and Burqa
Quilliam support the right of women to wear the hijab and the right of women to take it off. In a commentary in the Sun newspaper, Maajid Nawaz stated: "If Muslims object to the French ban on the hijab, we must also object to the `Islamist` plan to impose the hijab and ban women uncovering their hair." Quilliam has also defended the right of a woman to wear the full face veil, known as the niqabNiqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
or burka
Burka
A burka is a dress made from felt or karakul . Karakul being quite expensive, burkas were usually sewn from felt treated to look like karakul...
.
Founders and Directors
Quilliam was established in 2007 by Ed Husain, Maajid Nawaz and Rashad Zaman Ali, three former members of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.Ed Husain (Co-Director and Co-Founder)
Maajid Nawaz (Co-Director and Co-Founder)
Rashad Zaman Ali (Although Ali helped to set up Quilliam, he is no longer linked to the organisation, and now works for an organisation called 'Centri'.)
Quilliam is organised into four units: a 'Research and Policy Unit', an 'Outreach' unit, a 'Training and Consultancy Unit' and a 'South Asia Unit' (previously known as 'Global Affairs Unit').
Ishtiaq Hussain
Ishtiaq Hussain
Ishtiaq Hussain is a British Pakistani. He holds a B.A. and has studied MA in Social Sciences. In his teenage years he was an activist for the radical group Hizb-ut-Tahrir, later over ideological and moral differences...
, a Senior Trainer, left the organisation in 2009 to join central government.
Supporters
Quilliam has attracted messages of support from a wide range of figures from across the political spectrum. Its advisors include Professor Timothy Garton AshTimothy Garton Ash
Timothy Garton Ash is a British historian, author and commentator. He is currently serving as Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. Much of his work has been concerned with the late modern and contemporary history of Central and Eastern Europe...
, Dr Musharraf Hussain Al-Azhari, Dr Catherine Fieschi, Canon Dr Giles Fraser
Giles Fraser
Giles Anthony Fraser is a priest of the Church of England. He was Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral from 2009 until his resignation in October 2011. As Canon Chancellor, Fraser fulfilled the role of a canon residentiary with special responsibility for contemporary ethics and engagement with...
, David Goodhart
David Goodhart
David Goodhart was the Editor of Prospect, a British current affairs magazine. He was formerly a senior correspondent of the Financial Times...
, Michael Gove
Michael Gove
Michael Andrew Gove, MP is a British politician, who currently serves as the Secretary of State for Education and as the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the Surrey Heath constituency. He is also a published author and former journalist.Born in Edinburgh, Gove was raised in Aberdeen...
MP, Dr David Green, Sheikh Dr. Ali al-Saleh al Najafi and Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui is an academic and political activist. He was born in Delhi, India, migrated to Pakistan in late 1947 and moved to the UK in 1964....
. The chair of Quilliam's advisory board is a prominent restauranteer, Iqbal Wahhab
Iqbal Wahhab
Iqbal Wahhab, OBE is a British Bangladeshi restaurateur, being born in Bangladesh and coming to Britain at the age of eight months. Wahhab is the founder of Tandoori Magazine, and multi award winning restaurant Cinnamon Club.-Biography:...
.
Criticism
Critics have included Azzam TamimiAzzam Tamimi
Azzam Tamimi is a British Palestinian academic and political activist. He is currently the director of Institute of Islamic Political Thought in London and appears regularly on al-Jazeera, Press TV and other Arabic and English language television stations, and frequently publishes opinion pieces...
, Inayat Bunglawala
Inayat Bunglawala
Inayat Bunglawala is media secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain.He has written articles for The Times, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Daily Express, The Observer and The Sun focusing on Islam and current affairs. He is an activist for Islamist concerns and joined The Young Muslims UK in 1987...
, Ziauddin Sardar
Ziauddin Sardar
Ziauddin Sardar is a London-based scholar, writer and cultural-critic who specialises in Muslim thought, the future of Islam, futures studies and science and cultural relations...
, who formerly criticised Quilliam but has since sided with Maajid Nawaz during a debate with Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan is a Swiss academic, poet and writer. He is also a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford University...
broadcast on Press TV
Press TV
Press TV is a 24-hour English language global news network owned by the Iranian government. Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran, with bureaux in Beirut , Damascus , London , Seoul and Washington DC ....
, Yahya Birt and Seumas Milne
Seumas Milne
Seumas Milne is a British journalist and writer known for his left-wing views. A columnist and associate editor at The Guardian newspaper, he is author of a best-selling book about the 1984-5 British miners' strike, The Enemy Within: The Secret War Against the Miners, which focuses on the role of...
(The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
).
In an open letter to the Guardian, Anas al-Tikriti, Yvonne Ridley
Yvonne Ridley
Yvonne Ridley is a British journalist, war correspondent and Respect Party activist best known for her capture by the Taliban and subsequent conversion to Islam after release, her outspoken opposition to Zionism, and her criticism of Western media portrayals of the War on Terror...
, Ihtisham Hibatullah, Ismail Patel
Ismail Patel
Ismail Patel is a British optician, and founder of Friends of Al-Aqsa, in Leicester, about 1995.He is an advisory board member of the Conflicts Forum, director of IslamExpo, and a member of the Special Advisory Board of Clear Conscience....
, and Roshan Salih wrote:
Early criticism of Quilliam alleged a lack of originality, while others invaded the privacy of the Quilliam Foundation's founders by reproducing private photographs of them. One journalist at the Guardian wrote in 2007 that "On blogs and among many Muslims", co-founder Ed Husain "has been condemned as a government stooge, an MI5 agent" and even an apostate from Islam.
Seumas Milne
Seumas Milne
Seumas Milne is a British journalist and writer known for his left-wing views. A columnist and associate editor at The Guardian newspaper, he is author of a best-selling book about the 1984-5 British miners' strike, The Enemy Within: The Secret War Against the Miners, which focuses on the role of...
argued that “all three are straight out of the cold war defectors' mould trading heavily on their former associations and travelling rapidly in a conservative direction”.
Funding
In January 2009, it was revealed that Quiliam has received almost £1 Million from the government. A newspaper report claimed that some "members of the Government and the Opposition" had questioned the wisdom of "relying too heavily on a relatively unknown organisation...to counter extremism." Such criticisms have not been repeated by prominent figures.Quilliam openly acknowledges the funding that it receives from the public sector, and makes its financial records publicly available.