Sohail Ahmed (former Islamist)

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Sohail Ahmed
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipBritish
Alma mater
LGBT rights activist[1]

Sohail Ahmed is an English

LGBT rights in the Muslim world, and Islamic extremism.[12] He has also exposed the prevalence of extremism and jihadism in British universities.[13][14][15]

Background

Sohail is a British citizen of Pakistani and Kashmiri descent.

Barelvi Muslim background, his parents later became radicalized and started believing in the Salafist form of Islam.[1][16] Ahmed is a gay man who struggled with his homosexuality as a Muslim.[1][6]

Radicalization

Ahmed became

Islamic terrorist attack in his home city of London.[1][2][3]

Sohail has mentioned that his struggle with homosexuality also had a significant impact on his journey towards Islamic extremism.[1][2][3] In an attempt to change his sexuality, he became even more religious and observant, and given that he was a Salafist,[1][6] this, in practice, resulted in him becoming ever more extreme in his views.[6][17]

Sohail admits that whilst he was an Islamist, he was involved in propagating his radical views at Sir George Monoux College. He also admits that he had radicalized a fellow British Muslim who later went on to join the jihad with the now defunct Islamic State in Syria.[2]

Deradicalization

Ahmed ultimately decided not to engage in violence. He then began to doubt his religious beliefs, which mainly centred around questioning the

biological evolution
. This culminated in him studying evolution, which in turn led to him abandoning his Salafist views.

He then later questioned the concept of revelation and religion, which resulted in him becoming a Deist.[1] He then began questioning the existence of God and became an agnostic. He now describes himself as a cultural Muslim, retaining a connection to his former religion, whilst simultaneously rejecting its truth claims.[18]

Activism and current work

Ahmed has campaigned for

LGBT rights in the Muslim world, and against Islamic extremism.[7][6] He is also an active Labour party member. He now works in the fields of counter-terrorism and counter-extremism, and is currently an intern at the Henry Jackson Society
.

References

  1. ^
    OCLC 30856250. Archived
    from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Sommerlad, Nick (28 August 2015). "I was a hate preacher who radicalised at least one Brit jihadi but I've changed after coming out'". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Vine, Jeremy; Ahmed, Sohail (2015). "the former Islamic extremist who says he became radicalised to suppress his homosexuality". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  4. ^ Counter extremism expert on terror threat of Islamism, retrieved 2021-10-19
  5. ^ "How a Young Londoner Escaped Radical Islam". HuffPost. 2016-06-22. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  6. ^ a b c d e "A gay Muslim speaks: Why I left radical Islamism | Peter Tatchell Foundation". www.petertatchellfoundation.org. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  7. ^ a b "Hostility & support at LGBT-Muslim Solidarity launch | Peter Tatchell Foundation". www.petertatchellfoundation.org. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  8. ^ "Reformed Islamic extremist looks back". MSNBC. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  9. ^ Gay Muslim: I radicalized to try 'to cure myself' - CNN Video, 20 June 2016, retrieved 2021-10-10
  10. ISSN 0140-0460
    . Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  11. ^ "BBC Three - Reggie Yates' Extreme, UK, Gay and Under Attack". BBC. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  12. ^ [1][4][5][6][7][2][8][9][10][11]
  13. ISSN 0140-0460
    . Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  14. ^ "Ex-Islamist radical says extremism rampant in British universities". Queen Mary University of London. 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  15. ^ Youle, Emma (2015-08-06). "Former Islamic radical claims 'talk of jihad' common at Queen Mary University Friday prayer". East London Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  16. ^ Sohail Ahmed | Ex-Salafi On Leaving Islam, retrieved 2021-10-10
  17. ^ "My de-radicalisation story: Life after considering terrorism". International Business Times UK. 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  18. ^ My Journey In and Out of Extremist Islam, retrieved 2021-10-10
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