Maajid Nawaz

A former member of Hizb ut-Tahrir who became a prominent advocate for reforming Islam from within. Co-author (with Sam Harris) of Islam & The Future of Tolerance.

Nawaz’s central interpretive argument: “Religion doesn’t inherently speak for itself; no scripture, no book, no piece of writing has its own voice.” That framing allows him to hold two positions simultaneously — that Islamism and jihadism are real and dangerous, and that they are “politicized, contemporary readings of Islam and jihad” rather than Islam and jihad as such. He notes that most traditional Muslims consider Islamism an errant politicization of their religion.

His dialogue with Harris pursues “the universality of human, democratic, and secular values” as common ground, and both agree that critiquing an idea is not bigotry — specifically that critiquing Islam should not be conflated with prejudice against Muslims.

Where this appears

• Islam & The Future of Tolerance — co-authored with Sam Harris; Nawaz brings the insider reformist perspective.