127Nawaz Allow me to take this opportunity to also
thank you, Sam. It isn’t easy for anyone to reach
across divides— real or imagined— and to try and
hold a sensible dialogue amid so much background
noise and confusion. You will no doubt be censured
by some Islam critics for not insisting that I am in
fact a closet jihadist, just as I will be criticized by
many Muslims for having this conversation with
you.
I have nevertheless enjoyed being able to air these
issues together, and I too hope this dialogue sets the
pre ce dent for many such conversations going for-
ward, and that many others take up such a task.
This is an alternative to the vio lence we see all
around us, and ultimately can be the only way
forward. Reforming our approach to Islam in
the modern age is a huge task, but it has to start
somewhere.
My colleagues and I are attempting to inspire
people to think and speak like this, which is why
we’ve set up Quilliam. I wrote my memoir Radical
as a rallying cry for others. I want them to read and
understand that I came at this with no animosity
or bad intentions. I came at this after beginning
as an Islamist and trying to achieve what many
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