Imtiaz Qadir

Community Strategic Coordinator

Imtiaz is the Community Strategic Coordinator of the Active Change Foundation (ACF), a registered charity set up to tackle a range of issues such as gang, gun, knife and street crime but more specifically, recruitment into violent extremism. Imtiaz works to improve relations with the wider community, resolving problems of parents and elders and promoting their involvement in youth development.

Born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1957, Imtiaz moved to Thornaby, Cleveland at the age of six where he grew up as part of a strong, close-knit Muslim family in a predominately Christian community.

Imtiaz became head of the family when his father died in 1972. His many entrepreneurial roles included market trading, car dealing and working as a self-employed haulage sub-contractor for British Steel. Imtiaz moved to London in the early ‘80s, he now lives in Walthamstow with his wife of thirty-two years and their four children.

In 1996, the Qadir brothers bought a vehicle maintenance business and by 1999 each brother owned and managed their own service centre. It was during this time that as a tight knit family unit they were drawn along the path of extremism. They collectively decided to financially aid the Mujahideen and the ‘Jihad’ in Afghanistan and to send Hanif to Pakistan to explore the activities of the Mujahideen. It was as a direct result of Hanif’s experiences, reported back to them upon his return, that they made a joint decision to turn their backs on the extremists and commit their lives to preventing young people from their community being drawn into their clutches. This conscious decision has had major implications for Imtiaz and his brothers - he has made profound financial sacrifices in funding the activities of ACF from his own resources.
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