Tawfik Hamid (; born 1961) is an author from Egypt. A self-described former member of the militant al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, he says that he started to preach in mosques to promote his message and, as a result, became a target of Islamic militants, who threatened his life. Hamid then migrated to the United States where he has lectured at UCLA, Stanford University, University of Miami and Georgetown University against Islamic fundamentalism . He currently serves on the Advisory Council of The Intelligence Summit, an annual conference on security. Hamid has also appeared on television programs, including Fox's Glenn Beck Show, Fox News Channel, and the BBC's Religion and Ethics. Hamid, also known as Tarek Abdelhamid, has a medical degree in internal medicine from the Cairo University, and a master's degree in literature from the University of Auckland. Website and beliefs Hamid owns and runs a website, IslamforPeace.org "to revive Islam, save it from anachronistic interpretations, and make it a true power to support the values of liberty and humanity." Hamid says he believes in developing respectful and positive relationships with other nations and religions. He says that he learned that position from the Qur'an. Methodology Hamid states on his site that his methodology is to incorporate three processes to get a holistic understanding of the Quran to teach others about it. These steps are: A probing analysis of the subtleties and complexities of the Arabic language to develop a more precise understanding of the Quran and the message it offers. Knowledge of the historical circumstances which occasioned the revelation of key Quranic verses. Interpreting Quranic suras (chapters) and verses holistically to better appreciate their overall significance and synergistic qualities, rather than individually, which leads only to literal interpretations that do not take into account other verses and even whole segments of the Quran. Views on Islam In a 2009 Wall Street Journal article, Hamid said that Islam should prove its peacefulness and called Islamic scholars and clerics "to produce a Shariah book that will be accepted in the Islamic world and that teaches that Jews are not pigs and monkeys, that declaring war to spread Islam is unacceptable, and that killing apostates is a crime." He says that Muslim fundamentalists believe that Saudi Arabia's petroleum-based wealth is a divine gift and that Saudi influence is sanctioned by Allah. Thus, the Salafist extreme brand of Sunni Islam that spread from the Saudi