The fundamentalist and the man who writes letters

Posted by Joe on: 02.19.2008 /

On 1 April 2002, Maajid Nawaz was arrested in Egypt. Although a member of a vocal Islamic movement called Hizb ur-Tahrir, which calls for a totalitarian society, Maajid had not been engaged in violence in Egypt but was studying part of his Arabic degree.

He was sentenced for four years for his crime of membership of Hizb ur-Tahrir. During three years of captivity, Naajid Nawaz had time to reconsider his position and his ideology. After release, he continued in an active and high profile position within the organisation, but after a year renounced his beliefs and left the organisation.

So what happened? Partly Naajid was changed due to his interactions with a British group from Amnesty International and in particular an individual person, John Cornwall. A man who stood against all that Naajid Nawaz stood for, yet campaigned tirelessly for his release. In contrast to Hizb ur-Tahrir, which saw him as a bit of an embarrassment, John Cornwall wrote regular letters to the prison in Egypt about the campaign and if there was nothing to report, his personal family news.

His interaction with ‘the other’, the ‘enemies’ of his religion who refused to allow someone to rot in jail led Naajid to change his mind.

In stating what Human Rights mean to me I say: Human Rights as practically demonstrated by very good people such as John Cornwall is what helped deliver me from the fringes of hatred and paranoia, to an appreciation for my fellow human beings. I continue to be inspired by a good man from Buckinghamshire.