Shiraz Maher is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at Kings College London. He is currently writing an intellectual history of al-Qaeda, exploring the development of its political thought by drawing on hitherto unexamined material. Prior to joining ICSR, Maher was a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange where he worked on Foreign Policy and Security. Last year he published “Choosing our Friends Wisely: Criteria for Engagement with Muslim Groups”, a detailed study of the ‘Prevent’ aspect of the British government’s counter-terrorism strategy. The report attracted widespread attention and praise. Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, described it as ‘brilliant’, while Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, former Chief of the Defence Staff, called it ‘remarkable’. The report was also supported by the former Communities Secretary, Ruth Kelly, who wrote the foreword. Maher previously worked as a journalist reporting on terrorism, radicalisation and the Middle East. He has interviewed members of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia for the BBC and has embedded with the Pakistan Army, accompanying them on missions against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. During that trip he also interviewed members of the Taliban. He currently writes for Standpoint magazine. In 2007 Maher was awarded a bursary by the Rory Peck Trust for Hostile Environments Reporting. He is on the advisory board of Student Rights, a non-partisan group dedicated to supporting equality, democracy and freedom from extremism on university campuses. Maher holds degrees in History from the University of Leeds, and Cambridge University.
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