Shiraz Maher

Shiraz Maher (born 12 July 1981) is a British writer and analyst, and Director at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) at King's College London. He also teaches at Johns Hopkins University. The son of Pakistani immigrants, for several years after 9/11 Maher was a member of the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, but left the movement after the 2005 London bombings and became an outspoken critic of radical Islam. He has written for leading newspapers in Britain and elsewhere, produced reports and studies on counterterrorism strategy, and appeared in the international news media as a commentator on jihad and radicalisation.

Early life Maher was born in 1981 in Birmingham to British-Pakistani parents. His father was an accountant, and when Shiraz was an infant the family moved to Saudi Arabia. He stated he had never been very concerned about Saudi culture, noting he "lived in a Western compound, with everything you could want: tennis courts, swimming pools, cricket, basketball, bike races, all gender-mixed.”

One day when he was eleven, he was wearing a Daffy Duck T-shirt bearing the slogan "I Support Operation Desert Storm" and a Saudi man challenged him about the sentiment. "I said, 'Why not? Saddam's a terrible man.' The man said: 'No. This is an American conspiracy. These people use us as an excuse to establish bases on holy soil.'”

In 1995, when he was age 14, Maher moved back to Britain. He attended Solihull School from 1995 to 2000. In 2000, he enrolled at the University of Leeds. He also worked for Policy Exchange, writing a series of studies on national security. His report on reforming the government's counter-terrorism strategy was praised by both Michael Gove, then Britain's Secretary of State for Education, and Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, former Chief of the Defence Staff.

Publications Maher's articles have appeared in Standpoint, Foreign Affairs, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Spectator, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, The Daily Mail, Haaretz, The Jewish Chronicle, and The New Statesman, and on the websites of BBC News and the Gatestone Institute. His reports and studies include the following: Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea, Hurst Publ. (April 2016). "Greenbirds: Measuring Importance and Influence in Syrian Foreign Fighter Networks", ICSR (April 2014; co-authored with Joseph Carter and Peter Neumann). "The Arab Spring and its impact on supply and production in global markets", European Centre for Energy and Resource Security, (October 2013). "Between ‘engagement’ and a ‘values-led’ approach: Britain and the Muslim Brotherhood from 9/11 to the Arab Spring, in Western reactions to the rise of Islamists in the MENA" (Al-Mesbar, January 2013; co-authored with Martyn Frampton). "Change and Continuity: Hizb ut Tahrir’s strategy and ideology in Britain, in Revisionism and Diversification in New Religious Movements" (Ashgate, October 2013). "Al-Qaeda at the crossroads: how the terror group is responding to the loss of its leaders and the Arab Spring", ICSR (August 2012; co-authored with Peter Neumann). "Lights, Camera, Jihad: Al-Shabaab’s Western media strategy", ICSR (November 2012; co-authored with Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens and James Sheehan). "Preventing Violent Extremism: Lessons from the Government’s revised ‘Prevent’ Strategy", World Defence Systems (September 2011). "Ties that Bind: How the story of Muslim soldiers can forge a national identity", Policy Exchange (September 2011). "Choosing our friends wisely: criteria for engagement with Muslim groups", Policy Exchange (April 2009; co-authored with Martyn Frampton) Mapping contemporary Salafi-Jihadism, Fathom, Summer 2016