A Muslim who teaches at anti-extremism workshops, Hayward converted to Islam in 2005. He supports Muslims serving in the British armed forces and is a member of the UK Armed Forces Muslim Association. He has written regular politics-related columns in "Emel" and other Islamic magazines. In an article critical of some ostensible Muslim anger seen online, Hayward describes himself as "a moderate and politically liberal revert who chose to embrace the faith of Islam because of its powerful spiritual truths, its emphasis on peace and justice, its racial and ethnic inclusiveness and its charitable spirit towards the poor and needy." In 2010, he wrote the Introduction to Shaykh Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri's "Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings" (London: Minhaj-ul-Quran International). Hayward, who sharply criticizes all Islamic terrorism in the fatwa's introduction, shares Tahir-ul-Qadri's scholarly assessment "that regardless of any motives, terrorism can never be supported and is in fact condemned by the Holy Quran and the Sunnah." In 2011 Qadri appointed Hayward to a senior role as his (and Minhaj-ul-Quran's) Strategic Policy Advisor, although he ceased that role when he moved to the Middle East.