Maiwand Banayee

author

Maiwand Banayee is a former Taliban fighter who now lives in Coventry, UK, where he works with the National Health Service and studies for a postgraduate degree. Born in Afghanistan in 1980, he experienced radicalization at a young age while living in a refugee camp in Pakistan during the civil war. After years of promoting Taliban propaganda and grappling with doubts about extremism, he left the group and eventually escaped to the UK. He has since authored a book, 'Delusions of Paradise: Escaping the Life of a Taliban Fighter,' aiming to prevent others from falling into the traps of radicalization. Banayee is particularly concerned about the rise of religious schools in Afghanistan and their potential to indoctrinate a new generation.