Ed Husain
Ed Husain | |
---|---|
University of Damascus University of Buckingham | |
Doctoral advisor | Sir Roger Scruton |
Website | https://cjc.georgetown.edu/people/ |
Ed Husain (born 25 December 1974)
Husain was a senior advisor to former British Prime Minister
Early life
Husain was born and brought up in the
In his early years, Husain was brought up in Limehouse and attended a local primary school called the Sir William Burrough School, and he attended
Husain attended the
Education
Husain has a
His doctoral research was under the supervision of Sir Roger Scruton at The University of Buckingham.
Career
After completing his undergraduate degree, Husain worked for
Upon his return to Britain, Husain worked as a senior advisor to former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. In 2008, he cofounded a think tank with the aim to "challenge extremist narratives while advocating pluralistic, democratic alternatives that are consistent with universal human rights standards" and to stand "for religious freedom, equality, human rights and democracy".[12]
Husain later joined the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, where he was Senior Fellow in Middle Eastern Studies. He focused on trends within Arab Islamism, perceptions of the West in the Arab world, and US policy toward the Middle East, writing broadly on the Arab Spring and its implications for the region and foreign involvement.[13]
He was appointed to the Freedom of Religion or Belief Advisory Group of the British
In 2017, Husain joined the
Husain was appointed as a
Views
While at the Council on Foreign Relations, Husain commented on U.S. policy on issues ranging from the 2011 U.S. congressional hearings on radicalization spearheaded by Rep. Peter King (R-NY) to the events of the
In an article in the Spectator at the end of 2019, Husain highlighted shifting alliances in the Middle East and the possibility of a new Arab-Israeli alliance.[16] It was discussed widely in the region.[17]
He has appeared on CNN, Fox, NPR, BBC, Al-Jazeera, and has been published in the New York Times, Financial Times, Guardian, National Review, Spectator, Telegraph and Jewish Chronicle, among other media outlets.
Islam and society
Husain supports a
In traditional circles, Muslim women are not allowed to marry non-Muslim men...But in a pluralistic world in 2007, where non-Muslim men and Muslim women are marrying, you can't say, 'You can’t do that.'[18]
Husain also questions teachings relating to an Islamic state or Caliphate, arguing:
... a dawlah ([a state] not 'the' state) can and should preserve and protect the religion. But 'the state' is not a rukn [pillar] of the deen (religion i.e. Islam) and without it the deen is not lost. And individual can remain a firm believer, a mutadayyin, without the imam and the jama'ah.[19]
He believes that Islam is fully compatible with Western democratic society, stating that the Quran does not teach a compulsion to faith or the murder of unbelievers.[20] Husain has espoused this view in numerous commentaries, articles, and books, stating:
… the lived reality of Islam as a religion of compassion, pluralism, coexistence, and peace is a far cry from how it is perceived by many in the West.[21]
The raison d’être of Islamic civilisations and the shariah for a thousand years was to provide five things: security, worship, preservation of the family, nourishment of the intellect and protection of property. These are called maqasid, or the higher objectives of the shariah. Britain provides these in multitudes for every Muslim today.[22]
Husain has also urged Muslims in the West to respond to the challenge of Islamic extremism. In an article in the Evening Standard, he stated that:
Too often in Britain, in the name of freedom we provide protection for this murderous mindset. This mix of political ideology and puritan theology leads to the global curse of Salafi-Jihadism. We must stop protecting it...Most victims of Salafi-Jihadism are ordinary Muslims. In Britain, teachers, imams, politicians, social workers and families must not protect intolerance, but reject it.[23]
Middle East Federation
Husain has called for a federal union of Middle Eastern states along the lines of the
He writes:
After all, most of its problems – terrorism, poverty, unemployment, sectarianism, refugee crises, water shortages – require regional answers. No country can solve its problems on its own.[24]
Saudi Arabia
Husain is a noted critic of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses and role in promoting Islamist extremism worldwide.[25]
He has, however, spoken against isolating Saudi Arabia politically, arguing that the rise of Iranian theocracy in the Middle East requires ever closer alliances between the west and its Arab allies. Though critical of Saudi Prince
Bahrain
In an op-ed for the New York Times in 2012, Husain analysed the political unrest in
He called Bahrain a '"focal point of what is happening in the Middle East today – the battle to find a balance between preserving the best values of the Islamic tradition while the region eases its way into the modern world."
Israel and Palestine
Husain supports a
He is opposed to the international
Many people condemn Israeli settlements and call for an economic boycott of their produce, but I saw that it was Arab builders, plumbers, taxi drivers and other workers who maintained Israeli lifestyles. Separatism in the Holy Land has not worked and it is time to end it. How much longer will we punish Palestinians to create a free Palestine?[29]
ISIL
Husain has sought to explain the theological pull of
Unless we decimate the theological and ideological appeal of Isis, we will see the rise of an even more radicalised and violent force. Isis offers a caliphate and death. Our message needs to be of life, an Islam of the Muslim majority supported by 1,400 years of history. We must help Arab allies to reform, to create a regional Middle East union that transcends artificial borders, creates economic prosperity and reinstates Arab dignity. Terrorists cannot compete on this stage.[30]
U.S. response to the Arab Spring
On the Arab Spring, he has said:
The Arab world is no longer across the oceans. It is also on our streets here. Millions of American citizens are of Arab descent. Millions more are here as workers and students. What happens over there matters here. Can America make these people proud and empower them against Muslim extremists by changing the American story and making us all safer? Yes, it can. It must.[31]
Husain advocates American soft power and leadership in modelling democracy. Countering the US response to the Egyptian military's raiding of NGO offices in 2012, he said:
The U.S. government should ask its military allies to return to their barracks and cease killing protesters—and that it should tie these demands to U.S. aid. ... The Arab revolutionaries did not look to China or Russia for a model of government. They looked to four-year presidential terms, inspired directly by American democracy. Islamist leaders such as Tunisia's Mohamed Ghannouchi condemn French secularism but highlight American accommodation of religion as a model of a secular state that is less hostile to religion.[32]
However, Husain argued against U.S.
What happens in Syria does not stay in Syria. ... U.S. military intervention in Syria would likely see traditional state actors backing rival groups (Sunnis and Muslim Brotherhood by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, for example, Shia and Alawites by Iran, Druze and Christians by France, a former colonial master, or even indirectly Israel). Worse, there is a real possibility of the emergence of an al-Qaeda-inspired organization inside Syria to fight "Western imperialism," much like al-Qaeda or the "Sunni insurgency" in Iraq.[33]
Al-Qaeda
In a May 2011 op-ed in The Times, Husain warned against al-Qaeda's success as a brand:
Without doubt, the US was right to remove bin Laden, but it is wrong to think that his death will weaken al-Qaeda. Yes, a colossal psychological blow has been dealt, but al-Qaeda is no longer a mere organisation, but a global brand, an idea, a philosophy that now has its first Saudi martyr from the holy lands of Islam.[34]
However, Husain criticized the September 2011 extrajudicial killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, explaining that it is "counterproductive to defeating terrorism in the long term because it demolishes the very values that America stands for: the rule of law and trial by jury." Furthermore, "An easier, cheaper and more effective way of discrediting al-Awlaki and countering his message would have been to disclose his three arrests for the solicitation of prostitutes ..."[35]
Syrian Civil War
Husain has warned of the involvement of Al-Qaeda and like minded groups in the Syrian Civil War:
Whether Assad stays or goes, jihadism now has a strong foothold in Syria. The Free Syrian Army may wish to dismiss its al-Qaeda allies as irrelevant in order to reassure the West and continue receiving Western support, but the jihadi websites and footage of al-Qaeda fighting in Damascus and Aleppo tell a different story.[36]
Publications
Husain is the author of three books: The Islamist, which was a finalist for the George Orwell prize for political writing, The House of Islam: A Global History, published in 2018, and Among the Mosques: A Journey Across Muslim Britain, published in 2021.
References
- ^ @Ed_Husain (25 December 2011). "Honored to share a birthday with Jesus and Jinnah! Blessed to have a family that makes best cake!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "People". Center for Jewish Civilization. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ ehopkins (29 June 2023). "The N7 Initiative congratulates Ambassador Dan Shapiro on his return to government service". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ a b "People". Center for Jewish Civilization. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ "Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Editorial Board". www.tandfonline.com. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-9798440-3-4.
- ^ Ann McFerran (10 August 2008) Best of Times, Worst of Times: Ed Husain Times Online. Retrieved on 15 February 2009.
- ^ The Islamist. By Ed Husain. pp. 288. London, Penguin Books, 2007.
- ^ Dominic Casciani (24 May 2007) Inside the jihadi worldview BBC News (BBC). Retrieved on 15 February 2009.
- ISBN 9780141030432.
- ISBN 9780141030432.
- ^ "Quilliam - FAQ". Quilliam. 2018.
- ^ Husain, Ed (2014). "Arab Spring nations don't yet grasp freedom of dissent".
- ^ "Islam and the West". 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Council on Foreign Relations". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ Husain, Ed (21 December 2019). "Islam's reformation: an Arab-Israeli alliance is taking shape in the Middle East". Spectator. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Frantzman, Seth J. (22 December 2019). "UAE foreign minister tweets article about Israel, Arab alliance". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Perlez, Jane (2 June 2007). "A Journey to, and From, the Heart of Radical Islam in Britain". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ t=16081&sid=cc0c39864624f4449f8bbce6b817570f Ed Husain Questions [permanent dead link] (online Q&A)
- ^ Husain, Ed (25 May 2017). "How Islamist terror can be defeated". CNN. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ "Religion, Conflict, and Geopolitics in 2017". Institute for Global Change. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ "Britain and Islam – the real special relationship". The Spectator. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ "Ed Husain: British Muslims must reject intolerance to defy extremists". Evening Standard. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ Husain, Ed (2014). "The EU offers a model for unifying the Middle East". FT.
- ^ Husain, Ed (23 August 2014). "Saudis must stop exporting extremism". The New York Times.
- ^ Husain, Ed (2018). "Britain should not turn its back on MBS and the Saudis". The Spectator.
- ^ Husain, Ed (May 2012). "The Prince and the Ayatollah". The New York Times.
- ^ Husain, Ed (27 June 2007). "With God on their side?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Husain, Ed (6 March 2013). "Op-Ed: End the Arab Boycott of Israel". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ Husain, Ed (30 October 2014). "Until we understand Isis, we cannot hope to defeat it". Financial Times.
- ^ dyn/content/article/2011/01/28/AR2011012805611.html "How Should the U.S. Respond to the Protests in the Middle East?", Ed Husain, Washington Post
- ^ "Egypt's Revolt and the American Model", The Wall Street Journal
- ^ "We Intervene in Syria at Our Peril", The Atlantic
- ^ "The Times, "Bin Laden is More Dangerous Dead than Alive"". cfr.org. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ killing/index.html, CNN, "U.S. Shouldn't Have Killed al-Awlaki"
- ^ [1] National Review "Syria: Why al-Qaeda is Winning"
External links
- Bio page at CFR.org Archived 24 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- The Islamist – Penguin Books
- The Quilliam Foundation website