Hammid Nawaz Quotes

If we look at Abdel Nasser in Egypt as an Arab leader, he was secular. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Within our lifetime, we can remember a time when Islamism wasn't the dominant form of discourse or the aim should be to minimise the absolutists within any religious community and contain them. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Islamism is an ideology that seeks to impose any version of Islam over society. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Not all Muslims wish to express themselves in public through a communal religious identity. Identities are multiple, and some may wish to speak instead just as citizens in their professional capacity, through their political party, or their neighborhood body. ~ Maajid Nawaz

I worked my way through the education system and was treated as though I had value. ~ Maajid Nawaz

To suggest that a Muslim cannot think for himself sounds to me very much like an incident of anti-Muslim bigotry. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Never change yourself for the sake of someone , because at the day end no one owns your sacrifices and sufferings. ~ Tayyab Nawaz Sulehri

I was born and raised in Essex, just outside London, to a financially comfortable, well-educated Pakistani family. ~ Maajid Nawaz

We can't remain silent on gender rights and personal freedoms. ~ Maajid Nawaz

'Muslim' is not a political party. 'Muslim' is not a single culture. Muslims go to war with each other. There are more Muslims in India, Russia and China than in most Muslim-majority nations. 'Muslim' is not a homogenous entity. ~ Maajid Nawaz

In an open society, no idea can be above scrutiny, just as no people should be beneath dignity. ~ Maajid Nawaz

No idea is above scrutiny. No idea whatsoever. To criticize, to scrutinize and to satirize my own religion [Islam] is not Islamophobia. ~ Maajid Nawaz

If our hard-earned liberty, our desire to be irreverent of the old and to question the new, can be reduced to one, basic and indispensable right, it must be the right to free speech. ~ Maajid Nawaz

The only way we can challenge Islamism is to engage with one another. We need to make it as abhorrent as racism has become today. Only then will we stem the tide of angry young Muslims who turn to hate. ~ Maajid Nawaz

After the Islamic State, even al-Qaeda appears 'moderate'. ~ Maajid Nawaz

The British and French governments have taken a strong stance against 'extremist content' online when addressing their approach to tackling extremism. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Being a Muslim is not a joke but a challenge. If you think it is, come and live in Pakistan where you will know about Muslims' enemies around the globe ~ Faisal Nawaz Maitlo

In a British accent, he tells me his name is Dr.Nawaz, and suddenly I want to be away from this man, because I don't think I can bear what he has come to tell me. He says the boy had cut himself deeply and had lost a great deal of blood and my mouth begins to mutter that prayer again:
La illaha ila Allah, Muhammad u rasul ullah.
They had to transfuse several units of red cells-
How will I tell Soraya?
Twice, they had to revive him-
I will do namaz, I will do zakat.
They would have lost him if his heart hadn't been young and strong-
I will fast.
He is alive. ~ Khaled Hosseini

Let me make this clear: it is our duty to adopt a policy barring the wearing of niqabs in these public buildings. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Islamism is not Islam. Islamism is the politicisation of Islam, the desire to impose a version of this ancient faith over society. ~ Maajid Nawaz

The fact is that there is a serious problem of extremism with minority groups within Muslim communities. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Rather than allowing jihadists to shut down debate, it must proliferate so much that they simply cannot kill us all. ~ Maajid Nawaz

As people's opportunities to succumb to confirmation bias increases online - only seeking out information that confirms their prejudices - ignorance, extremism and close-mindedness have continued to rise unabated. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Increased sympathy for an Islamist cause, lack of integration, and the absence of acceptance of Muslims into British society makes it harder for Muslims to challenge Islamism and tough for non-Muslims to understand it. ~ Maajid Nawaz

We cannot hope to effectively counter extremism if we just focus on schools, universities and prisons: we need to take this online as well. ~ Maajid Nawaz

My mission: to be an advocate and champion for humanity and this planet we call Earth, and to expose injustice, inequality and "stupidity" in whatever form or wherever it might exist, and have fun while doing it. This is my solemn pledge. ~ Nisfan Nawaz

In the United Kingdom, we need to promote an inclusive British identity that involves and empowers people from all ethnic and faith backgrounds. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Quilliam will remain a priority for me because its values shape my beliefs and outlook. ~ Maajid Nawaz

I'm yet to discover any form of theocracy that isn't homophobic, that isn't bigoted to the out group. ~ Maajid Nawaz

If we are true small 'l' liberals, it's our job to seek out feminist Muslims, ex-Muslims, liberal Muslims, dissenting voices within Muslim communities, gay Muslims - we should promote those voices and in doing so, we demonstrate Islam is not a monolith, Muslims are not homogenous, and that Muslims are truly internally diverse. ~ Maajid Nawaz

As I went between the Islamic Society in my college and university, the mosque, the halal takeaway, and visited the homes of my male Muslim friends, it was entirely possible for me to get through my day without interacting in any meaningful way with a single non-Muslim. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Hip-hop in the '90s began moving towards the Nation of Islam and the 5 Percenters, black nationalist movements; very much so, these movements embraced a form of Islam: Malcom X's form of Islam prior to his change. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Your wealth and so called status can not earn real respect for you in the society , if you are characterless (have no purity). ~ Tayyab Nawaz Sulehri

Do not ask directly when you find something unusual in someone, and do not respond quickly when someone speaks unusually. ~ Faisal Nawaz Maitlo

when i baffled with death at my door!
the wounded hands of mine!
were punching the keys for someone to love.!
death was merciful on my work.
no wonder, even death gave me a life to ease your sufferings everyday.
now i know why i die everyday to get back to life again to make you live ~ Qalandar Nawaz

The conclusion that I have come to is that actually, no religion, whether it's Islam, Christianity or any idea based on scripture or texts, is a religion of 'anything,' really. ~ Maajid Nawaz

I believe that preventing radicalisation is far more efficient than de-radicalisation, meaning stopping someone joining is a lot easier than trying to pull someone out once they've joined. ~ Maajid Nawaz

I had a mind inquiring enough to question world events, as well as the passion fostered by my background to care, but I lacked the emotional maturity to process these things. That made me ripe for Islamist recruitment. Into this ferment came my recruiter, himself straight out of a London medical college. ~ Maajid Nawaz

I was filled with hate and anger. But during my trial, something decisive happened: Amnesty International adopted me as a prisoner of conscience, and it was an unbelievable feeling to know that there is someone fighting for you on the outside. Amnesty's 'soft' approach made me seriously consider alternatives to revenge. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Imams must ridicule Caliphate fantasies. Exchange programmes between Muslim-only schools and non-Muslim-majority schools should be initiated. Community-based debates around these themes must no longer be shut down from fear of offence. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Neoconservatism had the philosophy that you go in with a supply-led approach to impose democratic values from the top down. Whereas Islamists and far-right organizations, for decades, have been building demand for their ideology on the grassroots. ~ Maajid Nawaz

Poking fun at other people's beliefs, while it may seem frivolous and offensive, is a non-negotiable right. It is a principle that underpins free speech, the basis for progress. ~ Maajid Nawaz