Noman Benotman – “Has our involvement in the Middle East morally and financially bankrupt us?”

Noman Benotman has served in Afghanistan with the Mujahideen against the Soviet occupation. He worked to establish the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) to lead the struggle against the Libyan regime during the early 1990′s. At that time he met several of the Islamic extremists’ key figures including Ousama Ben-Laden, Aymen al-Zawahri, Abu Musab al-Suri and Abu Yahya al-Libi. As an ex-practising Jihadist leader himself, Benotman’s experience in the development of the Islamic extremist movement provides a unique and deep insight into the rise of Islamic Radicalisation.
In 2000 he argued that the Jihadi movements failed to achieve its goals and warned al-Qaeda leaders including Ben-Laden, continuing the Global Jihad against the West and the rest of the world would be a grave mistake. He has since strongly criticised al-Qaeda and its agenda, and wrote a high-profile open letter to Ousama Ben-Laden’s deputy Aymen al-Zawahri in 2007, calling on the group to re-think its principles and operations, and challenging its view on Jihad.
Since 2007 Benotman has dedicated himself to reconciliation between the Libyan government and the LIFG. In 2009 the LIFG leaders wrote a 400 page book “Corrective Studies” which denounced violence and argues against al-Qaeda’s agenda of Jihad.
He is now a Senior Analyst and in charge of Strategic Communications at Quilliam Foundation, a counter extremism think tank. A Human Development graduate from London University, he often consults for various institutions and firms regarding Islamic Affairs including some consultancy and participation work with the UN in Counter Extremism and Terrorism. He regularly appears on Western and Arabic television channels and in many news publications.