I have dedicated my life to understanding violent extremism in the name of Islam and ending its threat to the world and to Islam.I graduated from Yale University with a degree in international relations focusing on the Middle East. While a student, I was a writer for the State Department Public Diplomacy Washington File, Middle East/South Asia division; worked in the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; and studied Arabic at the American University in Cairo.After Yale, I was a policy analyst in the Executive Office of the President for the President's Chief Economic Advisor, and produced economic assessments for potential damages from terror attacks.Following the White House, I was commissioned in the Marine Corps, and completed two deployments to Iraq and one to the Philippines to defeat religion-driven insurgencies. In Iraq, I volunteered to command counter-terrorism document exploitation, reconnaissance and human intelligence missions for various government agencies. While commander, I created and led a cell of analysts and linguists to exploit recovered material and information. I then volunteered to be a combat replacement in Hadithah where he led intelligence operations and wrote a key assessment on gaining tribal support. For intelligence excellence in Iraq, I received the Joint Commendation, Navy Commendation and Navy Achievement Medals.Upon release from the Marines, I was presidentially appointed to be Department of Homeland Security Chief Intelligence Officer Charles Allen's (with 53 years in the Intelligence Community under his belt) Special Assistant. As Mr. Allen's apprentice, I wrote congressional testimonies and briefs. I also directed the preparation for President's Daily Brief terrorism sessions.Then, as Senior Intelligence Analyst for Homeland Security Counter-Radicalization, I helped lead the Intelligence Community in intelligence support to counter-ideology. I published dozens of assessments to identify vulnerabilities in al-Qa`ida messaging and methods to strategically defeat al-Qa`ida marketing and worldwide growth. I was then promoted to Senior Intelligence Officer for Homeland Security Operations.These days, I advise government clients with creating counter-terrorism strategies in Africa and South Asia. I am Founder and President of Seventh Pillar, Inc. -- a non-profit providing technical and educational support to community leaders around the world electing to counter al-Qa`ida's violent ideology and growth. Seventh Pillar, Inc. is also building -- in collaboration with volunteer educators, religious leaders, and translators -- an accessible online library of independent credentialed counter-al-Qa`ida voices.