Sohail Ahmed (former Islamist)

Sohail Ahmed is a reformed former radical Islamist who was at one point considering carrying out a terror attack in his home city of London.[1][2] He now works in the fields of counter-extremism, counter-terrorism, and social integration. He has featured in the media and has written for a number of publications exploring his personal journey, LGBT rights in the Muslim world, and Islamic extremism.[3][4][5][6][1][7][8][9][10][11] He has also exposed the prevalence of radical jihadism in British universities.[12][13][14]

Background

Sohail is a British citizen of Pakistani heritage. His parents settled in London following the main wave of immigration from Mirpur, situated in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Originally coming from a Barelvi Islamic background, his parents later became radicalised and started believing in the Salafist form of Islam.[15]

Sohail is a gay man who struggled with his sexuality as a Muslim.[5]

Education

Sohail attended Norlington School for Boys, and then later studied at Sir George Monoux College where he took A-levels.

He is currently studying towards an undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics degree with the Open University.

Radicalisation

He became radicalised in response to the Iraq and Afghanistan military interventions by the United States and the United Kingdom. He was taught at his local mosque that the Iraq and Afghanistan interventions were representative of a war against Islam and Muslims. Consequently, he began considering carrying out a terror attack in London.

Sohail has mentioned that his sexuality also had a significant impact on his journey towards radicalism. In an attempt to change his sexuality, he became even more religious and observant, and given that he was a Salafist, this, in practice, resulted in him becoming ever more extreme in his views.[16]

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 radicalised a fellow British Muslim who later went on to fight Jihad with the now defunct Islamic State in Syria.[1]

Deradicalisation

Sohail ultimately decided not to engage in violence. He then began to doubt his religious beliefs, which mainly centred around questioning the anti-science views he was raised with, in particular regarding the rejection of 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. 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 religion, whilst simultaneously rejecting its truth claims.[17]

Activism and current work

Sohail has campaigned for LGBT rights in the Muslim community, and against Islamic extremism.[6][5] He is also an active Labour party member.

Sohail now works in the fields of counter-terrorism and counter-extremism. He is currently an intern at the Henry Jackson Society.

References
  1. Sommerlad, Nick (2015-08-28). "Brit hate preacher changes his ways after coming out". mirror. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  2. "BBC Radio 2 - Jeremy Vine, Sohail Ahmed - the former Islamic extremist who says he became radicalised to suppress his homosexuality". BBC. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  3. Counter extremism expert on terror threat of Islamism, retrieved 2021-10-19
  4. "How a Young Londoner Escaped Radical Islam". HuffPost. 2016-06-22. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  5. "A gay Muslim speaks: Why I left radical Islamism | Peter Tatchell Foundation". www.petertatchellfoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  6. "Hostility & support at LGBT-Muslim Solidarity launch | Peter Tatchell Foundation". www.petertatchellfoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  7. "Reformed Islamic extremist looks back". MSNBC. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  8. Gay Muslim: I radicalized to try 'to cure myself' - CNN Video, retrieved 2021-10-10
  9. "What It's Like to Grow Up as a Closeted Gay Extremist Muslim". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  10. Hanif, Faisal. "My Muslim father tried exorcism to stop me being gay". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  11. "BBC Three - Reggie Yates' Extreme, UK, Gay and Under Attack". BBC. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  12. Hanif, Faisal. "University's Islamic society is suspended over 'intimidation'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  13. "Ex-Islamist radical says extremism rampant in British universities". Queen Mary University of London. 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  14. 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.
  15. Sohail Ahmed | Ex-Salafi On Leaving Islam, retrieved 2021-10-10
  16. "My de-radicalisation story: Life after considering terrorism". International Business Times UK. 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  17. My Journey In and Out of Extremist Islam, retrieved 2021-10-10
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