Ivan Humble is an anti-hate campaigner and vocal activist in tackling radicalisation and extremism in the UK. He turned his life around by leaving the English Defence League (EDL), to begin working tirelessly to influence others to do the same and bridge severed relationships between communities and society. He now works with people of all faiths, ethnicities and religions to tackle hatred.
Ivan was born in Norfolk, and lives in Lowestoft, Suffolk where he has spent the majority of his life. Frustrated with local issues, especially the treatment of returning officers by extremist protest groups, he began to voice his issues online and felt himself being slowly groomed into a far-right organisation. Starting out as a foot soldier, he eventually became the Regional Organiser for the EDL. Ivan lived in an area that was not very diverse, and had an epiphany when he met a Muslim, at a local community centre. He confessed to being part of the EDL and instead of backing away, engaged in a dialogue with him, discussing their differences and their common ground.
From there, he met Manwar Ali – a self-proclaimed former Jihadist from Ipswich and when Ivan’s sister and Dad tragically died in 2012, it wasn’t his EDL family he turned to, but Manwar. Two people from completely different backgrounds and wouldn’t find in the same room usually, became friends. From there, he began to realise his hate was misplaced and distorted. In 2013, when Lee Rigby was killed, he spoke with Manwar who assured him the killers weren’t anything to do with the Islamic faith and cemented his trust. Hate crimes began to increase against Muslims and there was a larger support for the EDL, but for Ivan, he knew it was time to get out.
Once known for promoting hate, people turned their backs on him and Ivan struggled to find his feet. But Ivan knew he was on the right path. Ivan reached out to the Suffolk Hate Crime team about his experience, and his experience of being radicalised. As a result he was offered a job running workshops on anti-radicalisation and he began to turn his story into a positive one. Eventually, he joined Me & You Education, an organisation dedicated to building resilience and preventing radicalisation, as an associate trainer. Ivan became active speaking and travelling to communities around the country, and involved in campaigns against racism and hate crime. Under the banner Open Your Eyes, he was really changing lives.
Ivan is passionate about seeing people as humans, not labels and is vocal about the dangers of the far-right. An example of this, was hosting an event at the Peterborough Mosque in memory of Jo Cox, as part of the Great Get Together, a campaign honouring Jo Cox and bringing communities together. In addition to this, in his hometown, he helps run an offline and online peer group #LiftLoudForDanny for people suffering with mental health issues. Ivan has gone above and beyond to make a difference, taking part in conferences that bring together mental health ambassadors and experts in tackling extremism, he’s become a respected expert in this space.
His story is about hope – the hope that people can change – and how important forgiveness is. Ivan has empowered his personal story by using it to change other people’s lives.
