Born in Egypt to a secular Muslim family, Tawfik Hamid joined the
extremist Islamic group Jamma’a Islamia, while he was a student in
medical school. In his studies he was learning to heal, but in his
thoughts, as he says, he “dreamed to die for Allah and to share in
terrorist acts.” His colleague in these formative days of the terror
movement was Dr. Al-Zawahiri, then an acquaintance with whom Tawfik used
to pray, and now the number two person of Al Qaeda.
"The
civilized world ought to recognize the immense danger that
Salafi Islam poses; it must become informed, courageous and
united if it is to protect both a generation of young Muslims
and the rest of humanity from the disastrous consequences of
this militant ideology."--Dr.
Tawfik Hamid
|
Eventually Dr. Hamid questioned the hatred and impulses to violence that
participation in extremist Islam was fomenting within him. When he began to
preach in Mosques to promote a message of peace instead of violence and
hatred, however, he himself became a target of the Islamic extremists who
had been his friends. They threatened his life, forcing him and his family
to flee Egypt, then Saudi Arabia and from there to the West.
From his insider understanding of terrorist mentality, Dr. Hamid
predicted the Twin Towers (9/11), Madrid, and London attacks. Now his
mission has become to speak out against radical Islamic “a cancer that is
spreading with frightening rapidity across the globe today.”
A
courageous as well as scholarly initiator of Islamic reformation, Dr. Hamid
seeks to build new thinking within Islam to overcome the hatred and violent
extremism that have metastasized within his religious tradition.
His most recent essay, “The
Development of a Jihadist’s Mind”, had been published by the
Hudson Institute. Other Op-ed articles “The
Trouble with Islam” and “How
to End Islamophobia” were recently published by the Wall Street
Journal. In addition, he has been on numerous television and radio shows,
including BBC Religion & Ethics, FOX News, CNN’s Glen Beck Show, Denis
Prager radio show and shortly on the sequel to the documentary, “Obsession”.
In March 2007, he was a keynote speaker at the Intelligence Summit where he
serves now on their Advisory Board.
His track record as a Muslim – speaking out very publicly against human
rights abuses in the Islamic world includes a recent participation in a
landmark Summit on Secular Islam detailed by Brett Stephens in the Wall
Street Journal of March 6th, 2007 titled “Islam’s Other Radicals” in which
he refers to Dr. Hamid as a reformist and former member of Jamaa Islamia; a
terrorist group preached to by Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Recently, Dr. Hamid spoke
to a large group of various government officials and decision makers in
Washington DC where he received very positive reviews.
Dr. Hamid explains why extremist Islam is far more prevalent and poses a
far more serious threat than most Americans and the West in general
appreciate; to our economy, ecology, and national security.
Dr. Hamid holds degrees in Internal Medicine, and Education.
Additionally, He had been designing software educational programs for
Medical, pharmaceutical and other grade school students. He is also
interested in and presents talk on the field of Natural medicine.
Read this new short, online book by
Dr. Tawfik Hamid
Partial
List of Speaking Engagements
Intelligence Summit – Washington DC 2006 and Florida 2007
Secular Islam Summit – Florida 2007
Georgetown University
University of Denver
Houghton College
Buffalo Community
Detroit Community
TV Interviews
Fox News
CNN – Glen Beck Show
ABC – Lateline – Australia
PM Buffalo – ABC Affiliate – Buffalo, NY
Michael Coren Show – Toronto, Canada
Newspaper Interviews
Wall Street Journal
Sunday Express – London, UK
Hudson Institute Website Magazine – US
National Post – Canada
The Star Ledger – Newark, NJ
Rocky Mountain News – CO
Intermountain Jewish News – CO
Detroit News – MI
Detroit Free Press – MI
Buffalo News – NY
Dr.
Tawfik Hamid
