Independent strategic advisory
Helping governments, international organisations and businesses understand complex political and security challenges, develop effective strategies — and turn policy into practical action.
Political & security risk: options for decision
Concise, evidence-based and written for the people who have to decide.
15+
years in counter-terrorism, preventing violent extremism and international policy
600+
diplomats, officials and practitioners trained across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East
1 of 5
officials who drafted and negotiated UN Security Council Resolution 2686 — adopted unanimously
Experience across
UN Security CouncilUN Office of Counter-TerrorismRUSIEuropean UnionGovernment of NorwayUK GovernmentWho we work with
Governments & international organisations
You need a strategy, action plan or programme that holds up internationally, works on the ground — and can prove its impact.
Businesses, consultancies & NGOs
You operate in a volatile environment and need independent, decision-ready risk analysis — not another generic report.
AI companies & research institutions
You need specialists who understand how extremists radicalise and recruit — to test whether your models can be misused.
Services
Each engagement starts from your problem and ends with something you can use: a decision, a strategy, a programme or a tested system.
01
The challenge
A decision is coming and the picture is unclear — shifting threats, competing actors and incomplete information.
What we do
Rigorous, independent assessment of political, security and terrorism risk — translated into clear strategic options.
Typical deliverables
02
The challenge
You need a strategy or action plan that is credible internationally and workable for the institutions that must deliver it.
What we do
Drafting and reviewing national strategies, CT and P/CVE frameworks and roadmaps — informed by first-hand negotiation at the UN Security Council.
Typical deliverables
03
The challenge
Funding depends on demonstrating impact — and prevention work is notoriously hard to design and measure.
What we do
Programme architecture, theories of change and M&E frameworks from the co-author of the UN’s own P/CVE evaluation toolkit — plus training that changes practice.
Typical deliverables
04
The challenge
Frontier AI systems can be manipulated toward radicalisation and violent harms. Generic red-teaming misses the domain nuance.
What we do
Evidence-based evaluation grounded in real-world radicalisation pathways, with actionable mitigations for trust & safety and engineering teams. Can be delivered with SensAI Consulting.
Typical deliverables
Why work with us
I
A PhD and peer-reviewed author who has led 218-interview field studies across 13 cities and synthesised 400+ studies on what works in prevention. Every recommendation is evidence-led.
II
Senior political adviser at the United Nations, co-drafter of a unanimous Security Council resolution, and adviser to governments across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
III
Managed a ~$3m UN portfolio, led multidisciplinary teams and delivered a £2.5m technology programme on schedule and within budget. Strategy that gets implemented.
Selected work
Publicly documented engagements only. Client confidentiality is always respected.
UN Security Council · 2023
One of five officials who drafted and negotiated a landmark resolution — the first to address hate speech, extremism, gender and discrimination in conflict in several new ways.
Adopted unanimously
UN Office of Counter-Terrorism · 2021–23
Co-designed the strategy, business case, programme architecture and monitoring & evaluation plans, structured to respond to emerging terrorism threats.
Multimillion-dollar donor investment
Government of Sudan · UNOCT
Led development of Sudan’s national roadmap, adapting prevention frameworks to a complex institutional and political environment.
A national strategy roadmap
ASEAN · UNOCT
Designed a regional initiative to strengthen policy responses, delivered with Indonesia’s counter-terrorism agency through a workshop and international conference.
92 case studies analysed
RUSI · UK-funded · 2018
Lead author and research designer. Built the methodology and trained a ten-person international research team.
218 interviews · 13 cities
Frontier AI · SensAI Consulting · 2026
Translated radicalisation research into a threat taxonomy and testing matrix, led multi-turn adversarial tests and turned failure modes into mitigations.
Findings → actionable mitigations
AI assistant
Instant, plain-language answers about his experience, services and publications — at any hour.
Answers come only from Mohammed’s published work and project summaries. The assistant does not give operational or security advice. Please don’t share confidential information.
Gray Wolf AssistantAI · answers from published work
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Expertise
Cross-cutting capabilities: diplomatic negotiation, coalition building, resolution drafting, executive speechwriting, senior-level briefings, stakeholder consultation, research synthesis and institutional advice.
01
Counter-terrorism
02
Radicalisation & P/CVE
03
Conflict prevention
04
National security
05
Foreign policy & geopolitics
06
International institutions
07
Emerging technologies & AI
08
Monitoring & evaluation
09
Capacity building & training
How an engagement works
1Scope
A short, confidential conversation to define the question, the constraints and the decision you need to make.
2Analyse
Research, stakeholder consultation and evidence synthesis — tested against real-world policy and operational experience.
3Deliver
Decision-ready outputs, a senior-level briefing, and support to turn recommendations into action.
Based in New York · working internationally
About the founder
Founder & Principal Adviser
For more than fifteen years, Mohammed has worked where research, policy and practice meet — helping governments and international organisations understand terrorism and violent extremism, and respond to it effectively.
He has advised governments and regional bodies across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, co-designed the UN’s global programme on preventing violent extremism, co-authored the UN’s evaluation toolkit for national action plans, and helped draft and negotiate a unanimous UN Security Council resolution. At RUSI he led international research teams and trained more than 600 officials for the European Union. Most recently he has applied his expertise in radicalisation to frontier AI, leading adversarial red-teaming of AI models.
He founded Gray Wolf Advisory to give clients direct, senior access to that experience — independent, rigorous and focused on what works.
Career
Education
Book trailer · 49 seconds · narrated by the author
The Book · Routledge
Security, Identity and Religion
By Dr Mohammed Elshimi · Routledge Critical Terrorism Studies
A critical examination of how de-radicalisation is understood and practised within Prevent — the UK’s counter-terrorism prevention strategy — and what it means for security, identity and religion.
Ask the book · AI companion
From author-approved summaries
Insights
Commentary has also appeared with the BBC, Prospect, The Diplomat and RUSI.
Report · RUSI · 2018
Understanding the Factors Contributing to Radicalisation Among Central Asian Labour Migrants in Russia
Read more →
Journal · Studies in Conflict & Terrorism · 2022
The Constraint Hypothesis: Rethinking Causality in Deradicalisation, Disengagement and Reintegration
Read more →
Toolkit · UNOCT · 2023
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Toolkit for National and Regional Action Plans to Prevent Violent Extremism
Read more →
Free briefing notes
Choose a topic and receive a short, practical briefing note written by Mohammed — free.
Discuss a project
Tell us briefly what you’re working on. We’ll reply to arrange an initial, confidential conversation — no obligation.