Maajid Nawaz

12/10/2013 14 min

Listen "Maajid Nawaz"

Episode Synopsis

This week saw the surprising exit from the English Defence League of its leaders Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll. Instrumental in their decision to leave was Essex-born Maajid Nawaz, a former activist for the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir. Arrested in 2001 for attempting to revive the group in Egypt, he served four years in a Cairo jail. Today, he has renounced his old beliefs and now runs the Quilliam Foundation, a 'counter extremism' think tank run by former activists. He has also been selected by the Liberal Democrats to fight a marginal parliamentary seat in 2015. Mark Coles looks at his life.Producer: Ben Crighton.

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