Born and raised in London, Ed has been involved in an array of Islamist groups in Britain and their front organisations, including Jamat-e-Islami, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hizb ut-Tahrir. In the early 90's, when these groups were first emerging, Ed was a highly effective strategist and campus recruiter who laid the ideological seeds for much of contemporary Islamism's manifestations in Britain. Some of Ed's recruits remain senior activists till this day. His eventual rejection of this ideology, documented in his book 'The Islamist', led him to a path of discovering pluralistic, normative Islam.
Ed has travelled widely across the Middle East. He studied history at university and then went on to learn Arabic at the University of Damascus during 2003-2005. He relocated to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before returning home to England in 2006. Ed holds an MA in Middle-East studies from SOAS, University of London. He is now pursuing doctoral studies in Arab experiences of post-colonial secularism.
Ed's highly-acclaimed book, The Islamist, was published by Penguin in 2007. Critical reviewers included, Martin Amis, John Gray, and Simon Jenkins. Ed's book has shifted the nature of the debate around Islamism to the extent that his contribution to this field has been acknowledged by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Ed has become a regular commentator on media discussions and civil society events about Muslims, multi-culturalism, Islamism, identity, liberty, extremism, and terrorism. He frequently appears on global and national television and has written for national newspapers such as The Times, The Guardian and The Telegraph. Ed also lectures and debates across the country, perhaps his most well-known debate was against Ayan Hirsi Ali in late 2007.
Ed is a member of the Labour party. He is married to Faye, and they have a young daughter, Camilla.
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