“I Was A Jihadi Spy”
What creates a terrorist? Not the headline, the attack, or the manifesto. Before violence, there is always a story.
In this episode of The Shadow Sessions, Hiba Balfaqih speaks with Mubin Sheikh, a former Islamist extremist who later became a counter‑terrorism expert working to prevent radicalization.
This conversation explores how people are drawn into extremist ideology—not because they are born hateful, but because they are searching for belonging, identity, and purpose. It examines how grievance, certainty, and “us versus them” thinking can transform vulnerability into radical belief.
But…
The skinny
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