5Pillars has obtained a guest list for the Quilliam Foundation’s summer gala, which we hope will shed some light on the secretive nature of the organisation’s funding.
The list includes investment bankers, prominent journalists, senior lawyers, academics, so-called “counter-terrorism experts” and other members of the Establishment.
It also includes a guest who works for “ABS Holdings”, which describes itself as the “UK’s largest wholesaler of sex toys.” Whether the company was consulted prior to Quilliam director Maajid Nawaz’s recent visit to a strip club remains unclear.
Out of the 112 guests, the majority have non-Muslim names, indicating that most of Quilliam’s support and funding base may well come from non-Muslims.
The counter-extremism organisation’s Inaugural Summer Ball was held in East London on Saturday night.
Prior to the event, Quilliam said it was a “rare opportunity to engage with some of the world’s leading figures in inspiring change, combating extremism and promoting peace”.
Quilliam stated on its Facebook page: “Celebrities will host this prestigious event as well as provide the entertainment… A guest list drawn from leading figures, including key policymakers, counter extremism and theatre practitioners, major business people, celebrities and media, will make this a gathering of the informed, the influential and the in touch.”
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Judging by photos of the event, it appears to have been supported by massive organisations like Twitter, Facebook and Porsche, although it’s unclear if those groups were just supporting the gala rather than contributing to Quilliam’s core funding.
“Poison of Islamism”
Founded in 2007, Quilliam styles itself as a “Muslim counter extremism think-tank” with the explicit goal of removing the “poison of Islamism” from British Muslim discourse and promoting a peaceful, spiritual form of Islam, which is at ease with the modern western world.
It was fronted by two “ex-extremists” and former Hizb ut-Tahrir activists Ed Husain and Maajid Nawaz, and soon secured government backing because the state was looking for a “Muslim partner” to combat radicalisation.
In the following years, the organisation became a regular feature on BBC studios and right-wing newspaper columns. During their heyday, Quilliam managed to isolate every strand of British Muslim opinion by attacking virtually every active Muslim group with grassroots support.
By 2010, the government’s funding had dried up because of economic austerity. Quilliam now says it is supported by “private individual donations, private philanthropic foundations and trust grants.”
5Pillars has redacted the following list to ensure that private information about the guests is not revealed. However, we have included names of individuals and organisations where appropriate:
THE QUILLIAM FOUNDATION’S SUMMER BALL GUEST LIST
Emily Dyer – Henry Jackson Society
T Slator – Savills Estate Agents
Neil Blair – The Blair Partnership
Jonathan Gough – Bank Julius Baer
Name Redacted – London Academy of Excellence
M Smith – Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Name Redacted – London Academy of Excellence
Name Redacted – London Academy of Excellence
Sophie – Angry Bairds
Marcel Agutierrezb
Sharaz Ali
Rashad Ali – Former member of Hizb ut-Tahrir
Jeremy – Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre
Leah Dunnage
Laura Shawkes
Stefan Bateson
Tamur Iqbal – Prime TV
Erum Masood – Commonwealth Business Women
Fares Al-Haffar – Morgan Stanley
Haidar Sari – Lime Rock Partners
thomas hibbert – FRM Hedge Fund
milly – British Polo Day
Jenny Kesterton – Exeter Polo Club
“fls203” – University of Exeter
Lucy Briggs
Emily Florence Hutchings – The actress?
Lindsey Hilsum – ITN
Keith Burstein – The English composer?
Margaret Coker – Wall Street Journal
Alexander Hayton (@alexanderhayton) – Quilliamite Twitter troll
Raeesa Mehta – MSN
Rachel Ann Maggart – Maajid Nawaz’s wife
Scott Biddle
Nicholas Russell – The 6th Earl Russell?
R Hannoush – Asharq al Awsat
Lewis Edwards – Bircham Dyson Bell law firm
Sian Edwards the musician?
Rebecca Ryan – Middle East Association
Hannah Ryan – Disney
Natallie Lloyd – Director of Say Digital
Haidar Lapcha
Mustafa Field – Faiths Forum for London
Edward eyre – King’s College London
“14052037” – Oxford Brookes University
Viraj Solanki – International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation
Sophie Marjoribanks – Sciences Po University
Amir Bayatsafa
Haseebah Armstrong
David Zimmermann – King’s College London
“Luay” – Universal Communications Group
James Prushton
“gb309” – University of Exeter
Elliot Ross – The Guardian contributor?
Sofia Lara
Dr Shaba Nabi – Seymour Medical Practice and Pulse Today
Poonam Taneja – BBC
“kmoffitt” – CIX Forums
Flick Rea – Liberal Democract Camden Council
Benjamin Bilski – The Pericles Foundation
Layla Moran – Liberal Democract Oxford West
Dave Liebler
Ajanth Anrajes
Kashish Sood
K Rai Bhatia
Laura Reeve
A representative from Engi Limited
Zamir Rhemtulla – Pioneer Solutions
Ben – Pioneer Solutions
Accounts – Pioneer Solutions
T Branston – ABS Holdings
Chiara Ayad – Sciences Po University
There were other aliases and email addresses which could not be deciphered.
