A former foreign fighter himself, Hanif once joined Al Qaeda members in Afghanistan, but was deterred by the crimes he saw being committed against civilians and turned his back on them. Upon his return to the UK, he vowed to safeguard young men and women from similar experiences, losing their lives and harming their communities.
Having a unique understanding and hard-won experience of the modus operandi of A.Q./ ISIS inspired groups and individuals, he is now recognized as arguably the best violent extremist and de-radicalization expert in Europe.
He is actively involved in advising and assisting senior policy makers in reforming key aspects of the Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) and Counter Violent Extremism (CVE), working closely with a wide range of governmental institutions, most of the UK’s Police Authorities, as well as research academics across the globe.
Among his many missions is encouraging countries and their leaders to invest in their young people in order to create positive future and personal resilience before extremists could invest in them. At the same time, Hanif and his team are actively involved in using social media to engage Muslims in condemning ISIS, like in their ‘Not in my name’ campaign.