Haras Rafiq is a trustee of the UK Charity Muslims Against Antisemitism. Haras has been a Counter-Extremism and Counter Terrorism expert since 2004. Furthermore, Haras has served as CEO for 7 years at Quilliam International’s (the world’s first counter Islamism think tank) and as an Executive Board Member. In addition to this, Haras has been a trustee of the UK and French Government Securities Think Tank – The Franco British Council. He was also until 2018 a member of the Advisory Group on Online Terrorist Propaganda at Europol’s European Counter-terrorism Centre (ECTC). Prior to this, Haras has held senior positions within large Corporate Organisations.

Haras has advised numerous UK Prime Ministers and worked with UK Ministers and US Secretaries of State. He has served on many UK Governmental task forces and advisory groups including Prime Minister David Cameron’s Community Engagement Forum (CEF) Task Force and the UK Government’s task force looking at countering extremism/terrorism in response to the 2005 terrorist bombings in London. Haras has testified at various Parliamentary hearings including  All Party Parliamentary Groups (UK) and at Senate Committee Hearings (USA).

Haras has worked on and delivered numerous projects relating to the analysis of radicalisation, as well as the deradicalization of extremists/Islamist terrorists, and has presented on a multitude of academic and political platforms, internationally. Haras has also authored many research and policy reports. As part of his work, Haras is committed to countering xenophobia and hatred, and has spoken at many conferences and events, including the Global Forum on combating anti-Semitism (twice), as well as being a Chair of a working group of the Global Experts’ Forum on anti-Semitism in Ottawa.

Haras is regularly featured in the media as a commentator and has been a cultural ambassador through the UK Government’s “Projecting British Islam” initiative. As well as the above, Haras has also served on the (UK) Northwest Board of the Mosaic initiative, which was initiated by HRH Prince Charles, and aimed at mentoring youngsters to become contributing members of society.

(Some) Authored Reports and Writings: 

  • Refuge: Pathways of Youth Fleeing Extremism
  • Countering Islamist Extremist Narratives – A Strategic Briefing 
  • UN White Paper – Youth Led Pathways from Extremism 
  • Caliphettes: Women and the Appeal of Islamic State 
  • The Muslim Brotherhood in the UK 
  • The War against Prevent – why the clichés persist. 
  • Platitudes are no longer enough. We Muslims must hold our community, religious leaders, and mosques to account. 
  • Countering Extremism: A Problem for Civil Society 
  • How Spain Became a Terror Target
  • Far right or Islamist, call terrorism by its name. 
  • Refugee Rights and Political Currency; A Poor Exchange Rate