Sheikh Dr Usama Hasan – The ISIS Crisis

• Date: 25th July 2016 – 7:30
• Venue: Hampstead London

ISIS are an international terrorist organisation who, in the words of one academic, represent “the largest mobilisation of fighters since World War 2.” They are also an apocalyptic, messianic cult, convinced that their leader and caliphate herald the coming end of days, including the return of Jesus Christ and the appearance of the antichrist. But what psycho-spiritual factors are at work behind the emergence of ISIS, and how may humanity collectively deal with The ISIS Crisis?

Sheikh Dr Usama Hasan is currently Senior Researcher in Islamic Studies at Quilliam, a think-tank specialising in Islamism and counter-extremism that has published a number of recent reports about ISIS/ISIL.  Usama is a trained imam, having memorised the Qur’an aged 11 and led mosque prayers for over 25 years, as well as a scientist with a PhD, MA and MSc from the Universities of Cambridge and London, as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.  He has translated a number of Islamic texts from Arabic and Urdu into English, including the Islamic Foundation’s “Way of the Prophet” (2009).  His latest academic papers address Islamic thought, law and scientific ethics. He was a committed Islamist for 20 years, before a deeper understanding of the Qur’an and life enabled him to move on in his own thinking.  As a young man, Usama was one of the leaders of the salafi Islamic movement in the UK that sent hundreds of fighters, including himself, to participate in “jihad” in Afghanistan and Bosnia during the 1990s. In 2014-16, Usama has worked on Islam, Politics and Conflict Resolution in the UK, Nigeria, Kosovo and MENA. He is also Convenor of the international Task Force (2014-2016) on Science and Islamic Theology that published its 230-page on “Muslim responses to Science’s ‘Big Questions’” in March 2016, available via Muslim-Science.com