Maajid Usman Nawaz, born on 2 November 1977 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, to a British Pakistani family with agnostic parents, is a native Briton of Pakistani background. As a bright schoolboy who enjoyed hip-hop and MCing, he unexpectedly joined the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, leading to his arrest in Egypt in December 2001, where he was imprisoned without trial until 2006. During incarceration, he engaged with human rights literature, prompting Amnesty International to adopt him as a prisoner of conscience, which contributed to his ideological shift. Upon release and return to Britain in 2006, Nawaz renounced his Islamist past in 2007 and founded the Quilliam Foundation, a now-defunct counter-extremism organization. He became a prominent former counter-extremism activist, advising leaders including David Cameron and George W. Bush on counter-extremism and preventing radicalisation, while advocating for a secular interpretation of Islam. Until January 2022, he hosted a weekend radio show on LBC. Nawaz has since positioned himself as a liberal activist, essayist, writer, human rights defender, and political activist, evolving into a staunch ally of Israel. His personal odyssey from extremism to enlightenment has been chronicled in his writings and public appearances, marking his transition to counter-terrorism advocacy.