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Enemy Combatant: The Terrifying True Story of a Briton in Guantanamo
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416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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March 14, 2007
A terrifying awakening to what the U.S. government is doing to people worldwide. If you believe that all lives of all people everywhere are just as good as American lives, you will want to read this book. If you feel like torture and injustice could never occur at the hands of Americans, you should to read this book. If you support a foreign policy of secret prisons, kangaroo courts, and detention centers, you must read this book, and take a walk in the shoes of an unjustly treated man, who happened to be an English-speaking Muslim living in Kabul during the initial U.S. attack in 2003.
July 22, 2017
Since Moazzam Begg’s was released from one of the toughest and the most notorious concentration camps in the world, Guantanamo Bay detention centre, I have been more than curious to read about his experiences both within the Guantanamo Bay and what led to his unlawful detention. I have read this book some months earlier and later again for the purpose of this review, and so that I can share the story of one of the most recognisable Muslim faces in Britain.
This story is not about a gang related terror group nor did the experiences in this story lead to events that caused mass killings of innocent people. This is the story of Moazzam Begg who faced indescribable levels of personal trials and tribulations during his years in an American concentration camp. The term concentration or torture camp is never used in the book, to my recollection, however, after reading this book and other books on a similar subject, the Guantanamo Bay detention centre is our own modern day concentration camp by any other name. Hitler, Stalin, Netanyahu and Pol Pot would be proud of our Anglo-American achievements.
The book starts from the time when Begg was in Pakistan on a family vacation enjoying the land of his ancestors. He was in his room playing around on this laptop when there was a late night knock at the door and upon answering it he was surrounded by Pakistani police and intelligence officers. Disorientated and overwhelmed with irritation, emotion and distress, Begg became unsure of what was happening to him. Unknown to Begg his life was about to inextricably change for the worse. He was about to enter the jaws of hell and never to return as the same man. For the next couple of years, he was constantly moved from one detention camp to another, being interrogated and tortured; when finally, one night he whispered to a fellow detainee “how much more of this can we take, it is becoming impossible”.
The early chapters in the book takes us through his daily life, which was much the same as any other young man with family responsibilities, often exciting, sometimes not so. Nevertheless, he describes in his book about how happy he was and how much he loved his wife and children. He was also exceedingly overwhelmed with excitement about the forthcoming birth of their new baby. Life was pretty much good until that one fateful night.
The outline of the book talks about how emotionally detached, confused and bemused he became by what he was experiencing. No one was talking to him. Everyone seemed to be talking at him. Shouting screaming, yelling at him, followed with very short periods of joy and some rest bite and then it all started again with threats and intimidation. At one point, in the book, in order to share his inner-emotions, he commented that he saw an English (British) speaking official and he became overjoyed with deep emotion and relief and thought this man had come to protect him. Begg quickly realised this man was not his imagined superhero to fly him back to England, he was in fact another one of his callous and torturous jailers.
The book picks up in the middle of chapter 3 where Begg was asked by several boyish friends if he fancied a trip to Afghanistan, into the heart of the Taliban region to visit some of the so called training camps. Begg had thought that these camps were not what we would recognise as military camps but more like a field event for some countryside orientation adventures. Whether this was naivety or stupidity, whatever the description, it is not illegal to misinterpret the role and functions of such camps. After all he was a young man with a sense of boyish adventure, who are we to say he should not have gone. Except maybe his family, who did advise him not to go to Afghanistan because of the political instability in the country.
Throughout much of the book Begg explains that he had either met or been associated with different people of interest to the intelligence services, one such person was a Tunisian man he knew and who he later found out was arrested in Dubai on terrorism charges which I suppose would also make Begg an object of curiosity for the intelligence community on both sides of the pond. The wider explanation for this was that Begg was a volunteer charity worker in Pakistan and later in Afghanistan and that he also worked in an Islamic Bookshop in Birmingham England and these roles did occasionally collide and bring him into contact with people of interest. This however doesn’t automatically translate towards him supporting their ideas or actions or indeed participating in their worldview of politics.
Whilst in custody in Pakistan he was constantly shoved, slapped, punched and kicked by his American tormentors persistently and relentlessly asked if he was a friend or knew of Usamah Bin Ladin or Mullah Umar. Begg was finally moved to Afghanistan first to Kandahar and then to Bagram from where he was flown to Guantanamo Bay. On arrival, he explains his emotions and feelings as something that were just simply unexplainable. In fact, he had never experienced such shocking images of men shackled like wild animals and many sitting in metal cages hogtied and hooded for hours, sometimes for days. This was his new home, his new place for interrogation. This torture camp, he very quickly realised was specifically designed to create as much human suffering as possible and clearly this was something you would have found more suited to the days of the African Boar War period than in modern 21st Century America.
His experiences are explicitly set out in different parts of the book, each experience edging beyond the capacity for human suffering yet with pure willpower and determination he managed to continue on. He saw military police screaming at detainees, calling them dogs, desecrating the Muslim holy book and even keeping them awake with loud music ensuring constant sleep deprivation. This was what he refers to as his “hardest test’.
In Chapter 8 he remarks that he finally met other detainees from various parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Russia. It was at this point he dawned upon him that the Americans were preparing to send him to Egypt to be tortured and interrogated. This frightened him enormously even after the experiences he had already suffered. This he referred to as the “devils agents” doing the work for the Americans. While he awaited his fate, he adds, during his stay in Guantanamo Bay, he was often in such crammed conditions that he had to sleep standing up. The torture and the agony was unrelenting.
There were moments of what he refers to “trials of strengths” where he was constantly abused and denied basic human needs and would be punished if he spoke or asked for any assistance. One such moment was a comical episode where a female camp guard from DC asked Begg where he was from, he replied that he was from England, she thought for a moment, he remarked, then asked “y’all got lions and elephants, and shit there?” to which Begg calmly replied, “only in zoos. I’m from England, not Uganda”.
He shares his only sense of reality and some constellation was when he was allowed to write to his wife. Sometime later he started to receive profoundly redacted replies from his family and British lawyers who were working to get him released. Although he would receive visits from his appointed legal team, such visits were constantly supervised by a US military lawyer and almost impossible to have conversations which left little doubt that they were not listened into. In mid 2014 Begg says that he finally received a letter from Clive Stafford Smith a British lawyer who said that he would be representing him. His journey towards freedom had begun.
The final parts of the book travels through the period of what he generally termed as a “mockery of justice”, where the illusion of justice was more prevalent than the actual practice of human rights and fair treatment free from torture and inhumane treatment. He was given a document by his interrogators which was an admission of guilt that he had signed some years earlier when he arrived at Guantanamo Bay. Begg always claimed this document was signed under duress. Begg constantly argued that he was not a member of Al Qa’idah or the Taliban whilst acknowledging he had visited so called training camps in Afghanistan. He refers to this document as a functional paper designed only to find him guilty and then for the Americans to manufacture the evidence to fit the alleged crime. A clear mockery of the judicial system.
The books finished with Begg being measured for clothing where he, “during a moment of madness”, believed he was going to be given a made-to-measure tailored suited only to find he was given an T shirt made in Bangladesh with a pair of jeans. During his time in detention he wrote several poems and there was one poem that stuck out more than most:
Still the paper I do pen
Knowing not, or ever when –
As dreams begin and nightmares end –
I’m homeward bound to beloved tend
Towards the end of his tormented time in Guantanamo Bay, and on arrival back in England, he came to write:
“… one of the hardest truths I’ve had to face since my return has been the complicity of my own government in what happened”.
This story is not about a gang related terror group nor did the experiences in this story lead to events that caused mass killings of innocent people. This is the story of Moazzam Begg who faced indescribable levels of personal trials and tribulations during his years in an American concentration camp. The term concentration or torture camp is never used in the book, to my recollection, however, after reading this book and other books on a similar subject, the Guantanamo Bay detention centre is our own modern day concentration camp by any other name. Hitler, Stalin, Netanyahu and Pol Pot would be proud of our Anglo-American achievements.
The book starts from the time when Begg was in Pakistan on a family vacation enjoying the land of his ancestors. He was in his room playing around on this laptop when there was a late night knock at the door and upon answering it he was surrounded by Pakistani police and intelligence officers. Disorientated and overwhelmed with irritation, emotion and distress, Begg became unsure of what was happening to him. Unknown to Begg his life was about to inextricably change for the worse. He was about to enter the jaws of hell and never to return as the same man. For the next couple of years, he was constantly moved from one detention camp to another, being interrogated and tortured; when finally, one night he whispered to a fellow detainee “how much more of this can we take, it is becoming impossible”.
The early chapters in the book takes us through his daily life, which was much the same as any other young man with family responsibilities, often exciting, sometimes not so. Nevertheless, he describes in his book about how happy he was and how much he loved his wife and children. He was also exceedingly overwhelmed with excitement about the forthcoming birth of their new baby. Life was pretty much good until that one fateful night.
The outline of the book talks about how emotionally detached, confused and bemused he became by what he was experiencing. No one was talking to him. Everyone seemed to be talking at him. Shouting screaming, yelling at him, followed with very short periods of joy and some rest bite and then it all started again with threats and intimidation. At one point, in the book, in order to share his inner-emotions, he commented that he saw an English (British) speaking official and he became overjoyed with deep emotion and relief and thought this man had come to protect him. Begg quickly realised this man was not his imagined superhero to fly him back to England, he was in fact another one of his callous and torturous jailers.
The book picks up in the middle of chapter 3 where Begg was asked by several boyish friends if he fancied a trip to Afghanistan, into the heart of the Taliban region to visit some of the so called training camps. Begg had thought that these camps were not what we would recognise as military camps but more like a field event for some countryside orientation adventures. Whether this was naivety or stupidity, whatever the description, it is not illegal to misinterpret the role and functions of such camps. After all he was a young man with a sense of boyish adventure, who are we to say he should not have gone. Except maybe his family, who did advise him not to go to Afghanistan because of the political instability in the country.
Throughout much of the book Begg explains that he had either met or been associated with different people of interest to the intelligence services, one such person was a Tunisian man he knew and who he later found out was arrested in Dubai on terrorism charges which I suppose would also make Begg an object of curiosity for the intelligence community on both sides of the pond. The wider explanation for this was that Begg was a volunteer charity worker in Pakistan and later in Afghanistan and that he also worked in an Islamic Bookshop in Birmingham England and these roles did occasionally collide and bring him into contact with people of interest. This however doesn’t automatically translate towards him supporting their ideas or actions or indeed participating in their worldview of politics.
Whilst in custody in Pakistan he was constantly shoved, slapped, punched and kicked by his American tormentors persistently and relentlessly asked if he was a friend or knew of Usamah Bin Ladin or Mullah Umar. Begg was finally moved to Afghanistan first to Kandahar and then to Bagram from where he was flown to Guantanamo Bay. On arrival, he explains his emotions and feelings as something that were just simply unexplainable. In fact, he had never experienced such shocking images of men shackled like wild animals and many sitting in metal cages hogtied and hooded for hours, sometimes for days. This was his new home, his new place for interrogation. This torture camp, he very quickly realised was specifically designed to create as much human suffering as possible and clearly this was something you would have found more suited to the days of the African Boar War period than in modern 21st Century America.
His experiences are explicitly set out in different parts of the book, each experience edging beyond the capacity for human suffering yet with pure willpower and determination he managed to continue on. He saw military police screaming at detainees, calling them dogs, desecrating the Muslim holy book and even keeping them awake with loud music ensuring constant sleep deprivation. This was what he refers to as his “hardest test’.
In Chapter 8 he remarks that he finally met other detainees from various parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Russia. It was at this point he dawned upon him that the Americans were preparing to send him to Egypt to be tortured and interrogated. This frightened him enormously even after the experiences he had already suffered. This he referred to as the “devils agents” doing the work for the Americans. While he awaited his fate, he adds, during his stay in Guantanamo Bay, he was often in such crammed conditions that he had to sleep standing up. The torture and the agony was unrelenting.
There were moments of what he refers to “trials of strengths” where he was constantly abused and denied basic human needs and would be punished if he spoke or asked for any assistance. One such moment was a comical episode where a female camp guard from DC asked Begg where he was from, he replied that he was from England, she thought for a moment, he remarked, then asked “y’all got lions and elephants, and shit there?” to which Begg calmly replied, “only in zoos. I’m from England, not Uganda”.
He shares his only sense of reality and some constellation was when he was allowed to write to his wife. Sometime later he started to receive profoundly redacted replies from his family and British lawyers who were working to get him released. Although he would receive visits from his appointed legal team, such visits were constantly supervised by a US military lawyer and almost impossible to have conversations which left little doubt that they were not listened into. In mid 2014 Begg says that he finally received a letter from Clive Stafford Smith a British lawyer who said that he would be representing him. His journey towards freedom had begun.
The final parts of the book travels through the period of what he generally termed as a “mockery of justice”, where the illusion of justice was more prevalent than the actual practice of human rights and fair treatment free from torture and inhumane treatment. He was given a document by his interrogators which was an admission of guilt that he had signed some years earlier when he arrived at Guantanamo Bay. Begg always claimed this document was signed under duress. Begg constantly argued that he was not a member of Al Qa’idah or the Taliban whilst acknowledging he had visited so called training camps in Afghanistan. He refers to this document as a functional paper designed only to find him guilty and then for the Americans to manufacture the evidence to fit the alleged crime. A clear mockery of the judicial system.
The books finished with Begg being measured for clothing where he, “during a moment of madness”, believed he was going to be given a made-to-measure tailored suited only to find he was given an T shirt made in Bangladesh with a pair of jeans. During his time in detention he wrote several poems and there was one poem that stuck out more than most:
Still the paper I do pen
Knowing not, or ever when –
As dreams begin and nightmares end –
I’m homeward bound to beloved tend
Towards the end of his tormented time in Guantanamo Bay, and on arrival back in England, he came to write:
“… one of the hardest truths I’ve had to face since my return has been the complicity of my own government in what happened”.
September 11, 2007
well i read this book a while back and just started today to re-read it.. I loved the book,it made me laugh and cry .. moazzam begg is a great narrator and i was never bored at any time during reading 'enemy combatant'.. I like the way he ended the book .. the poem was emotional .. anyways basically you all gota read it to know how it really is :D
April 9, 2013
صعب جدا تفول علي الكتاب ممتع لان كل احداثه غير ممتعه الحقيقه
لكن لفت انتهابي شويه حاجات حاسسها مهمه جدا
زي الكلام عن ان مصر كانت البلد اللي بيهددو بيها المعتقلين وانهم لو متكلموش هيروحو مصر .. للدرجادي كانت بلدنا عميله لامريكا وفيها تعزيب ممنهج حتي للاغراب اللي من بره مصر ؟؟؟؟
عجبتني قوي ثقافه معظم اللي هي كانت اكبر مساعد ليه لتخظي المحنه الشديده دي وده يدل علي ان الثقافه شيء مهم جدا لتربيه النفس
فكره ان امريكا بعد احداث سبتمبر بقت زي الطور الهايج وان مفيش اي دوله ف العالم مهما كانت في الوقت ده تقدر تقولها لا علي اي حاجه بل كان الكل بيساعدها عشان ميتحطش ف خانه الاعداء
طبيعه الاستخبارات والعملاء الاغبياء ده بيكسر اساطير كتيره اتعلمنهاها من الافلام البوليسيه اللي بتمثل العميل ااستخباراتي الامريكي او الانجليزي بالرجل الخارق مع انه ف الحقيقه حمار
جهل الشعب الامريكي باي حاجه غير اكله وشربه وشكرا علي كده
.....
الكتاب رائع للي عاوز يعرف عن معتقل غوانتانامو وباغرام ومميز جدا علي الصعيد الانساني والنضالي
استمتعت بيه جدا وبدعو اي حد يقراه
لكن لفت انتهابي شويه حاجات حاسسها مهمه جدا
زي الكلام عن ان مصر كانت البلد اللي بيهددو بيها المعتقلين وانهم لو متكلموش هيروحو مصر .. للدرجادي كانت بلدنا عميله لامريكا وفيها تعزيب ممنهج حتي للاغراب اللي من بره مصر ؟؟؟؟
عجبتني قوي ثقافه معظم اللي هي كانت اكبر مساعد ليه لتخظي المحنه الشديده دي وده يدل علي ان الثقافه شيء مهم جدا لتربيه النفس
فكره ان امريكا بعد احداث سبتمبر بقت زي الطور الهايج وان مفيش اي دوله ف العالم مهما كانت في الوقت ده تقدر تقولها لا علي اي حاجه بل كان الكل بيساعدها عشان ميتحطش ف خانه الاعداء
طبيعه الاستخبارات والعملاء الاغبياء ده بيكسر اساطير كتيره اتعلمنهاها من الافلام البوليسيه اللي بتمثل العميل ااستخباراتي الامريكي او الانجليزي بالرجل الخارق مع انه ف الحقيقه حمار
جهل الشعب الامريكي باي حاجه غير اكله وشربه وشكرا علي كده
.....
الكتاب رائع للي عاوز يعرف عن معتقل غوانتانامو وباغرام ومميز جدا علي الصعيد الانساني والنضالي
استمتعت بيه جدا وبدعو اي حد يقراه
November 25, 2018
كان أوّل كتاب أقرأه في أدب السجون..
كثير من تفاصيله لازالت عالقة بذهني؛
حتى تلك الحظات التي بكيت فيها تأثرًا بأحداثه لازالت صورتها منطبعة!
ليتني أعود يومًا للكتابة عنه..
كثير من تفاصيله لازالت عالقة بذهني؛
حتى تلك الحظات التي بكيت فيها تأثرًا بأحداثه لازالت صورتها منطبعة!
ليتني أعود يومًا للكتابة عنه..
January 21, 2022
Wow. Such an important and powerful book. One that anyone who wants to know about the War on Terror MUST read. I don't even want to speak about these details, read it!
April 7, 2012
The author, either a pious bookseller and humanitarian or a supporter of al-Qaida, depending on whom you ask, was abducted from his house in Islamabad and spent three years in the titular prisons. Begg is, by other accounts, a reasonable and charming man, and was a model prisoner who got along with several of his guards. His personality shows through in his prose, which is readable, clear, and impassioned without veering into needless vitriol (though he does not bother to hide his disdain for American culture and political ignorance). There are two ways to read the book: the unrepentant apologia of a liar who got caught funding terrorism, or the clarion call of an innocent man nearly destroyed by an unjust and unthinking system.
Personally, I think there’s a bit of truth to both. Begg leaves out an earlier arrest in his memoir, and even at times condemns himself from his own mouth. It isn’t just a post 9/11 America that suspected him; he was investigated by MI5 as early as 1998. He also defends the Taliban, claims that he was allowed to build a girls’ school under them, hints that 9/11 was known ahead of time by US authorities who let it happen, and thinks that Afghanistan was attacked because it was a “purist Islamic state” (which is ludicrous). But at the same time, the outrage of this book is that even if Begg was as bad as Bush and company said, he should have gotten a trial. The charges against him should have been made public and plain. He and all the others should have been treated with a modicum of humanity (which is not the same as respect or complacency). And certainly, US and British intelligence should have conducted interrogations with intelligence and coordination, not the repetitive, unhelpful sessions by any number of alphabet agencies vying with each other instead of sharing information. At the very least, Begg’s memoir shows that the aftermath of the War on Terror was as badly handled in the prisons as it was in the White House.
Personally, I think there’s a bit of truth to both. Begg leaves out an earlier arrest in his memoir, and even at times condemns himself from his own mouth. It isn’t just a post 9/11 America that suspected him; he was investigated by MI5 as early as 1998. He also defends the Taliban, claims that he was allowed to build a girls’ school under them, hints that 9/11 was known ahead of time by US authorities who let it happen, and thinks that Afghanistan was attacked because it was a “purist Islamic state” (which is ludicrous). But at the same time, the outrage of this book is that even if Begg was as bad as Bush and company said, he should have gotten a trial. The charges against him should have been made public and plain. He and all the others should have been treated with a modicum of humanity (which is not the same as respect or complacency). And certainly, US and British intelligence should have conducted interrogations with intelligence and coordination, not the repetitive, unhelpful sessions by any number of alphabet agencies vying with each other instead of sharing information. At the very least, Begg’s memoir shows that the aftermath of the War on Terror was as badly handled in the prisons as it was in the White House.
April 10, 2013
بدأت معرفتي بهذا الكتاب بطريقة مغايرة , فلقد كنت اتصفحه حتي أجد معلومة عن د .عافية صديقي ... لم أجد الكثير عن هدفي الأولى .... لكنني لم ألبث الكثير حتي أعلم أن بين يدي تجربة مريرة تستحق القراءة والتدبر
لقد أزاح الكاتب بتجربته عن ستائر كانت مغلقة تمثل بالنسبة لى نهاية العالم , لم أكن أتوقع أو اتخيل وجود مثل هذه الأفعال فى أيامنا هذه لكن من الواضح أنني كنت ساذجا للغاية
لقد مر معظم _المؤلف_ قدرا بتجربة لم ولن تكن لشخصا مثله فهو الأنجليزى ذو الأصول الهندية الذى كبر وترعرع فى انجلترا ولم يرى أى بلد إسلامى لكن بذره الإسلام بداخله كبرت وترعرعت وحثت قلبه و ضميره على مساعده اخوانه البوسنيين ثم الشيشان ثم الأفغان وزيارته لمخيماتهم ..... كان هذا كفيلا بجعله أحد أهم الأرهابيين وأخطرهم مما جعله يمكث عاما كاملا فى سجن باجرام ثم تم ترحيله على جوانتانامو التى مكث بها ما يقرب من العامين
رغم ما عاناه من تعذيب نفسي و شعوره بالظلم ومعاقبته لمجرد الشك فيه بدون أى دليل او حتي لوائح اتهام إلا أنه كان متسامحا جدا يفصل بين الدولة متمثله فى أجهزتها وبين الأفراد العاملين فلقد كان منصفا فيما يخبرنا به عن المجندين
لقد أزاح الكاتب بتجربته عن ستائر كانت مغلقة تمثل بالنسبة لى نهاية العالم , لم أكن أتوقع أو اتخيل وجود مثل هذه الأفعال فى أيامنا هذه لكن من الواضح أنني كنت ساذجا للغاية
لقد مر معظم _المؤلف_ قدرا بتجربة لم ولن تكن لشخصا مثله فهو الأنجليزى ذو الأصول الهندية الذى كبر وترعرع فى انجلترا ولم يرى أى بلد إسلامى لكن بذره الإسلام بداخله كبرت وترعرعت وحثت قلبه و ضميره على مساعده اخوانه البوسنيين ثم الشيشان ثم الأفغان وزيارته لمخيماتهم ..... كان هذا كفيلا بجعله أحد أهم الأرهابيين وأخطرهم مما جعله يمكث عاما كاملا فى سجن باجرام ثم تم ترحيله على جوانتانامو التى مكث بها ما يقرب من العامين
رغم ما عاناه من تعذيب نفسي و شعوره بالظلم ومعاقبته لمجرد الشك فيه بدون أى دليل او حتي لوائح اتهام إلا أنه كان متسامحا جدا يفصل بين الدولة متمثله فى أجهزتها وبين الأفراد العاملين فلقد كان منصفا فيما يخبرنا به عن المجندين
May 20, 2009
I picked this book up at a reading, by Moazzam Begg, in London. Not only is Moazzam's story incredible, but as a man, both in person and in the book, he is thoughtful, intelligent, and kind, in spite of the immense brutality he suffered for three years. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, it gives a unique opportunity to see what life is like for Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and the incredible lack of evidence that has landed many of them there.
May 22, 2013
وانا بفكر هكتب ايه فى تقييمى للكتاب
لاقيت ان الكتاب ساب فيا اثر كبير جدا
يمكن اثر الكاتب نفسه مكنش يقصد يسيبه فى نفس القارىء
بس يمكن المشكلة مش ف الكتاب المشكلة كانت ان القارىء هنا مصرى!
قصة معاناة الكاتب سمعناها كتير -رغم انى مكنتش متخيلة بعض التفاصيل- اللى الكاتب شرحها باسلوب شيق جدا وجميل جدا
لكن تأثير الكتاب عليا هو حزن وسخط على المجتمع اللى كنا ولازلنا عايشين فيه!
الكاتب فى النهاية بيعتز بكونه بريطانى مسلم
انا كمان بعتز بكونى مسلمة لكن للاسف الشديد كونى مصرية اكتشفت انها اكبر شتيمة ممكن تتقال ف حق بنى آدم
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عاوزة اقولك يا معظم بيج ان احنا بلد مش بتعترف بحاجة اسمها تعذيب نفسى والا كان كل الشعب فعلا بقى اسمه معتقل
احنا بنتعرض كل يوم للتعذيب النفسى بصورة محدش يتخيلها
عاوزة اقولك كمان ان الامريكان لو كانو بيعاملوك بشوية قسوة -ومش كلهم كانو كدا-فهما معذورين لانك من بلد غير بلدهم ودين غير دينهم وبتمثل عدو ليهم
احنا هنا سهل اوى تتعذب لحد ما تموت وجثتك تتفور -زى ما بيقولو- وتختفى اثارك من الوجود رغم انك مسلم زيهم ومصرى زيهم!
احنا فى بلد انت لخصتها لما قولت انهم كانو بيهددوك انك هتسافر مصر تتعذب هناك
مش هقدر اقول اكتر من كدا لان الواقع اسوأ بكتير
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لا أزال أسطر هذه الورقة
جاهلا-بينما تبدأ احلام وتنتهى كوابيس-
متى سأعود الى الوطن!!!
هكذا انهى الكاتب قصة معاناة استمرت لسنوات
جعلها الله فى ميزان حسناتك وليرحمنا الله مما ابتلينا به فى بلادنا العربية المسلمة
وليرحم الاسلام ممن انتسبوا اليه واهانوه ظلما وبغيا وعدوانا!!
اللهم انصر الاسلام والمسلمين
لاقيت ان الكتاب ساب فيا اثر كبير جدا
يمكن اثر الكاتب نفسه مكنش يقصد يسيبه فى نفس القارىء
بس يمكن المشكلة مش ف الكتاب المشكلة كانت ان القارىء هنا مصرى!
قصة معاناة الكاتب سمعناها كتير -رغم انى مكنتش متخيلة بعض التفاصيل- اللى الكاتب شرحها باسلوب شيق جدا وجميل جدا
لكن تأثير الكتاب عليا هو حزن وسخط على المجتمع اللى كنا ولازلنا عايشين فيه!
الكاتب فى النهاية بيعتز بكونه بريطانى مسلم
انا كمان بعتز بكونى مسلمة لكن للاسف الشديد كونى مصرية اكتشفت انها اكبر شتيمة ممكن تتقال ف حق بنى آدم
========================
عاوزة اقولك يا معظم بيج ان احنا بلد مش بتعترف بحاجة اسمها تعذيب نفسى والا كان كل الشعب فعلا بقى اسمه معتقل
احنا بنتعرض كل يوم للتعذيب النفسى بصورة محدش يتخيلها
عاوزة اقولك كمان ان الامريكان لو كانو بيعاملوك بشوية قسوة -ومش كلهم كانو كدا-فهما معذورين لانك من بلد غير بلدهم ودين غير دينهم وبتمثل عدو ليهم
احنا هنا سهل اوى تتعذب لحد ما تموت وجثتك تتفور -زى ما بيقولو- وتختفى اثارك من الوجود رغم انك مسلم زيهم ومصرى زيهم!
احنا فى بلد انت لخصتها لما قولت انهم كانو بيهددوك انك هتسافر مصر تتعذب هناك
مش هقدر اقول اكتر من كدا لان الواقع اسوأ بكتير
========================
لا أزال أسطر هذه الورقة
جاهلا-بينما تبدأ احلام وتنتهى كوابيس-
متى سأعود الى الوطن!!!
هكذا انهى الكاتب قصة معاناة استمرت لسنوات
جعلها الله فى ميزان حسناتك وليرحمنا الله مما ابتلينا به فى بلادنا العربية المسلمة
وليرحم الاسلام ممن انتسبوا اليه واهانوه ظلما وبغيا وعدوانا!!
اللهم انصر الاسلام والمسلمين
July 7, 2015
It makes my heart ache to read this book. How can my country - or any country - hold someone without charge for years? There can be no justification for it, and the only explanation is that the American government, at the highest levels, does not care about our values of freedom or justice.
Moazzam quotes from Malcolm X in this book, and I've included the quote here:
Moazzam quotes from Malcolm X in this book, and I've included the quote here:
"I'm not anti-America, and I didn't come here to condemn America - I want to make that very clear! I came here to tell the truth - and if the truth condemns American, then she stands condemned."
January 28, 2016
A fairly by-the-books account by Moazzam Begg of his life leading up to his imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay, and what happened to him there. It's not amazingly well-written, but is readable and stays concise and focused.
Though at times the dialogues feel a bit contrived or preachy, for the most part the book rings true. Begg doesn't exaggerate his mistreatment in the American prisons - for the most part his treatment was unbecoming of a 1st-world nation, but hardly horrific, and each act of unnecessary cruelty is counterbalanced by a tale of a guard who consistently acted with kindness. The worst things Begg describes (the two murders of prisoners by guards) can't be denied - they're a matter of public record.
The big question, though, is why was he imprisoned at all, and to what end? I disagree with Begg's ideology and methodology both. He holds a rather simplistic and slightly tribalistic view of the world, which is disappointing for someone of his means and education. But the fact that our government locked him up in tucked-away prisons for three years without trial is ridiculous. There wasn't just cause to kidnap him from a foreign nation, there wasn't just cause to hold him without charges, there wasn't just cause to imprison him in a 3rd-world nation beyond the rule of law. And the whole atmosphere gives the feel of something that would radicalize people, not reform them, which is significant when you realize that the vast majority of such detainees were eventually released rather than being charged with anything. The whole exercise was a stupid, counterproductive waste of resources and lives, and Begg effectively exposes it as such.
Though at times the dialogues feel a bit contrived or preachy, for the most part the book rings true. Begg doesn't exaggerate his mistreatment in the American prisons - for the most part his treatment was unbecoming of a 1st-world nation, but hardly horrific, and each act of unnecessary cruelty is counterbalanced by a tale of a guard who consistently acted with kindness. The worst things Begg describes (the two murders of prisoners by guards) can't be denied - they're a matter of public record.
The big question, though, is why was he imprisoned at all, and to what end? I disagree with Begg's ideology and methodology both. He holds a rather simplistic and slightly tribalistic view of the world, which is disappointing for someone of his means and education. But the fact that our government locked him up in tucked-away prisons for three years without trial is ridiculous. There wasn't just cause to kidnap him from a foreign nation, there wasn't just cause to hold him without charges, there wasn't just cause to imprison him in a 3rd-world nation beyond the rule of law. And the whole atmosphere gives the feel of something that would radicalize people, not reform them, which is significant when you realize that the vast majority of such detainees were eventually released rather than being charged with anything. The whole exercise was a stupid, counterproductive waste of resources and lives, and Begg effectively exposes it as such.
August 25, 2021
I enjoyed reading this book BUT
I couldn’t put his though process into acceptance "he leaves the UK to go live in Afghanistan because it is the true Islam country!" Really? true Islam is killing each other, true Islam is not contributing in the science of the world advancement. How did this guy understand Islam like this is beyond me, and it does show he lacked education big time. Page after page the Quran asks us to question and learn. The life the prophet was full of moral out lines and it left everything else for us. So how come there are upon us people like that people who simply say “we know a better Islam than that the prophet brought from Allah” and I apologies and ask for forgiveness from Allah for what I say.
Above all this guy hates his wife and family otherwise I can’t fathom how he goes to a country where they sleep with young boys, and gang rape as tribal retaliation, if he had any mercy in his heart toward his kid and wife.
You know what maybe he is a good person and God from above decide to put him through this to clean him from the sin of his thoughts and the sin against his family.
Above all the book shows that a lot of the detainees by American forces are not really criminals rather really missed up in their brains.
will written though and full of details some times too much, there is repetion though. I liked the book hated the guy.
I couldn’t put his though process into acceptance "he leaves the UK to go live in Afghanistan because it is the true Islam country!" Really? true Islam is killing each other, true Islam is not contributing in the science of the world advancement. How did this guy understand Islam like this is beyond me, and it does show he lacked education big time. Page after page the Quran asks us to question and learn. The life the prophet was full of moral out lines and it left everything else for us. So how come there are upon us people like that people who simply say “we know a better Islam than that the prophet brought from Allah” and I apologies and ask for forgiveness from Allah for what I say.
Above all this guy hates his wife and family otherwise I can’t fathom how he goes to a country where they sleep with young boys, and gang rape as tribal retaliation, if he had any mercy in his heart toward his kid and wife.
You know what maybe he is a good person and God from above decide to put him through this to clean him from the sin of his thoughts and the sin against his family.
Above all the book shows that a lot of the detainees by American forces are not really criminals rather really missed up in their brains.
will written though and full of details some times too much, there is repetion though. I liked the book hated the guy.
February 6, 2022
Enemy Combatant is a must-read, especially for people who reside in the US Settler State. Additionally, if you read Against the Loveless World and wanted to read a non-fiction book by a former political prisoner who was also subjected to extended time in solitary confinement, you need to read this book. I don’t think you can truly understand the depths of injustice, cruelty, torture, and trauma that the US Imperialist Military inflicted, and inflicts, on prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, Kandahar, Bagram, and in all the other prisons it controls internationally unless you read Moazzam Begg’s account, or that of any other former prisoner. Begg was locked up in Bagram, Kandahar, and Guantánamo Bay for 3 years without ever being charged with a crime. He and all the other imprisoned people were tortured—including elders and children under the age of 18, and he witnessed US soldiers murder two imprisoned people during his time there. He was held in solitary confinement for 20 months at Guantánamo for no reason other than the fact that the US military was trying to break him so that he’d confess to crimes he did not commit, and to isolate him from other prisoners so that he couldn’t talk about the murders he witnessed by US soldiers.
April 13, 2013
عَدو مُحارب .... مُعظم بيغ
تجربة مميزة ورحلة جديدة مع بطلٍ عظيم "معظم"...
حكاية لا تخلو من الظلم والقهر الذي اعتدناه والذي يواجه كل إنسان يطالب بالعدالة والحرية...إلا أن بطلنا طالب بها من أجل غيره ودفع ثمن البطولة
الرواية يتخللها سرد للتاريخ البشري الموسوم بالعار والاإنساني , مع اختلاف الضحايا إلا أن للمسللمين نصيب الأسد من كل ذلك
لا يمكن أن تخرج منها إلا بحقد مضاعف على الدول الكبرى واحتقارٍ أكبر لسذاجتنا وتخلفنا الذي سمح بالتلاعب بنا الى هذا الحد المُخزي
ما يميز بطلنا حواره الدائم مع الجنود الأمريكيين وتوعيتهم لسياسة دولتهم الطاغية وإصراره على نشر قيم العدالة حتى بين أبناء العدوّ
ما لفت نظري أن ما قرأته عن تعذيب غوانتانامو لم يكن الا نقطة في بحر السجون السوريّة...نعم هنا فقط تفوقت احدى حكوماتنا على الغرب
رحلة معظم تستحق أن تروى وأن تُقرأ...��نه عظيم وحامل رسالة الإسلام والإنسانية
تجربة مميزة ورحلة جديدة مع بطلٍ عظيم "معظم"...
حكاية لا تخلو من الظلم والقهر الذي اعتدناه والذي يواجه كل إنسان يطالب بالعدالة والحرية...إلا أن بطلنا طالب بها من أجل غيره ودفع ثمن البطولة
الرواية يتخللها سرد للتاريخ البشري الموسوم بالعار والاإنساني , مع اختلاف الضحايا إلا أن للمسللمين نصيب الأسد من كل ذلك
لا يمكن أن تخرج منها إلا بحقد مضاعف على الدول الكبرى واحتقارٍ أكبر لسذاجتنا وتخلفنا الذي سمح بالتلاعب بنا الى هذا الحد المُخزي
ما يميز بطلنا حواره الدائم مع الجنود الأمريكيين وتوعيتهم لسياسة دولتهم الطاغية وإصراره على نشر قيم العدالة حتى بين أبناء العدوّ
ما لفت نظري أن ما قرأته عن تعذيب غوانتانامو لم يكن الا نقطة في بحر السجون السوريّة...نعم هنا فقط تفوقت احدى حكوماتنا على الغرب
رحلة معظم تستحق أن تروى وأن تُقرأ...��نه عظيم وحامل رسالة الإسلام والإنسانية
January 18, 2015
This one of those books that highlights the whole stupidity of the US response to the 11th of September attack on the World Trade Centre in New York. Begg was swept up and transported first to Khandahar, then Bagram and finally Guantanamo, where he endured solitary confinement, endless interrogation and abuse.
That being said, this book is really the story of one man's confrontation with himself. Begg documents with painful detail his tribulations, for they were many, and his final determination to fight for his release.
That Gunatanmo is still operating 11 years after the events chronicled by Begg is a true testament to the studiity of the US governments and its leaders.
We don't recognise the Geneva convention. You have no rights. There is no charge. Truly Orwellian.
That being said, this book is really the story of one man's confrontation with himself. Begg documents with painful detail his tribulations, for they were many, and his final determination to fight for his release.
That Gunatanmo is still operating 11 years after the events chronicled by Begg is a true testament to the studiity of the US governments and its leaders.
We don't recognise the Geneva convention. You have no rights. There is no charge. Truly Orwellian.
March 7, 2012
كتاب يعييشك طعم الظلم المر الذي عاشه مُعَظَّمْ ، أدركت صورة الحقيقية للذئاب ..
أجبرني الكاتب على التعاطف مع قصته ..
لغته عميقة بليغة راقية ، تسلسل أحداثه جعلني أُنهي الـ(448) في جلسة واحدة..
أكثر ما أعجبني حوارت الكاتب مع الجنود الأمريكيين في زنزانته الإنفرادية ..
.
..
"أدركت الكثير بعد قراءته"
..
.
أجبرني الكاتب على التعاطف مع قصته ..
لغته عميقة بليغة راقية ، تسلسل أحداثه جعلني أُنهي الـ(448) في جلسة واحدة..
أكثر ما أعجبني حوارت الكاتب مع الجنود الأمريكيين في زنزانته الإنفرادية ..
.
..
"أدركت الكثير بعد قراءته"
..
.
March 6, 2010
An extremely well written book filled with the details of a person who some regard as a terrorist even though that was never proven in any court of law. I have a new appreciation for the Muslim people and the trials they must endure because of their religion. A very, very well written book!
August 9, 2014
كتاب غير لدي أشيا كثيرة..
أصبحت أبحث وأقر عممن يعانون الظلم وخلف القضبان في ابعد الاماكن
..عبشت مع هذا الكاتب تجربتة لحظة بلحظة
وحست أنني معه في زنزانتية الانفرادية أشاركة أفكارة
..شكرا معظم
أصبحت أبحث وأقر عممن يعانون الظلم وخلف القضبان في ابعد الاماكن
..عبشت مع هذا الكاتب تجربتة لحظة بلحظة
وحست أنني معه في زنزانتية الانفرادية أشاركة أفكارة
..شكرا معظم
September 7, 2025
نجمتان للمحتوى الذي جاهدت للاستفادة منه وفهمه لأن الترجمة العربية كارثية بالأخطاء الإملائية، وندمت ندما شديدا لأنني لم أقرأ الكتاب بلغته الأصلية! لم أضطر في حياتي لقراءة ترجمة حرفية كهذه ولا حتى في روايات أغاثا البوليسية! إذ كانت-على تفاهة محتواها مقارنة بهذا الكتاب- لا تخلو من شيء من الإبداع والاحترام لذوق القارئ ولغته!
بعيدا عن هذا، أحببت تجربة معظّم بيغ قبل أن يختطف من طرف القوات الباكيستانية كما حدث لكثيرين غيره .. لم تكن تجربته في قندهار وباغرام و غوانتنامو خاصة ولا متميزة عن غيره ممن عاشوها إلا أنها كانت أسهل وأكثر طبيعية مقارنة بغيره مثل فايز الكندري(كتابه البلاء الشديد والميلاد الجديد) .. أمقت في نفسي أن عقلي عقد هذه المقارنة إذ لا أحد يستحق أن يمر بهذا الظلم مهما بلغت درجته ولا يجدر بنا أن نستخّف بمعاناة أحد لأنها لم تصل ذروتها، لكن عندما تقرأ تجارب معتقلين عانوا أضعاف ما عاشه معظّم ولمدة تفوق مدة حبسه بأربع مرات وأكثر لا تجد ما تعلٌق به حقيقة. وهذا مؤسف لأننا قرأنا وسمعنا وشاهدنا معاناة بني جلدتنا حتى اعتدنا أنها الشيء الطبيعي وكل ما دونها لا يستحق أن يذكر .. هذا فظيع في حق إنسانيتنا كمسلمين وأمقت كل من كان سببا في مثل هذا الوعي المشوه الذي صرنا نملكه!
لم تتح لي الترجمة المشوهة الاستفادة كثيرا مما قرأت، لكنها كانت تجربة مثيرة للاهتمام خصوصا بدايتها حيث يحكي معظم حالة الأقلية الآسيوية في بريطانيا التي ولد وترعرع فيها،و العصابات التي كان لابد أن يكون جزءا منها لينجو، عندما تقرأ ما سرده معظم لا تستطيع أن تربط تلك التجربة بحقيقة أنه كانت طالبا في الإعدادية أو الثانوية حينها، كانت شوارعهم ساحات حرب قد يموت فيها أحد إذا أرخى دفاعه!
ثم تجربته في العمل الإغاثي، بالمال أولا ثم بمشاركته شخصيا في قافلة الإغاثة للبوسنة والهرسك، هذه الفقرة من حياة معظم هي المفضلة عندي في الكتاب إذا أتاحت لي فرصة رؤية المسلمين هناك في ذلك الوقت بعدسة معظّم بيغ، رؤية المسلمين الشجعان الأباة الواقفين على حمى بلدانهم مجاهدين بأنفسهم وأموالهم لا فيهم خنوع ولا خضوع ولا عقدة إنهزام يشعرون أنهم يجب أن يبرروا معها قتالهم للعدوان! أحببت ذلك لدرجة أنني بحثت عن تاريخ الشيشان والبوسنة والهرسك ووجد فلما عن غزو روسيا للشيشان أترك الروابط أسفل..
وبذكري هذا فقد كانت مشاركة معظم في العمل الإغاثي بشكل متكرر وزيارته لمعسكرات المسلمين ثم انتقاله لأفغانستان () ما أثار ريبة الأمريكان فيه وجعلهم يدينونه بأسخف الجرائم .. ما أريد الإشارة إليه أن الأمريكان زجّوا بأناس كثر في غوانتنامو لم يكن حولهم ربع ما كان حول معظم من ريبة (وأن تكون مسلما تكّن عاطفة للمسلمين فقط كاف بالنسبة لهم ) لكن معظم مكث في المعتقل 3 سنوات، قضى معظمها في السجن الانفرادي حيث كان يكتب الرسائل والأشعار ويقرأ الكتب وهو أمر حين قرأته شكّكني في أنه يتحدث عن غوانتنامو التي مجرد بقاء علف تفاحة عندك فوق وقت الأكل كاف باستدعاء قوات مكافحة الشغب بدروعهم. وأسلحتهم لضرب شيخ أعزل!
فمعظّم لكونه بريطانيا كان له اماتيازات كثيرة خففت حدة تجربته ومكّنته من التواصل معهم إضافة إلى خلفيّته البريطاينة التي كانت تشعره دائما أنه منهم وليس عدوا لهم وكل ما في الأمر سوء تفاهم لدرجة أنه كان يحسن الظن في يلتمس العذر للمحققين والجنود في مواطن كانت لتجعل أي عربي يدرك الكراهة والعداء الذي يحملونه لكل ما هو مسلم!
عموما تجربة تستحق القراءة إذا كنت ستقرؤها بالانجليزية أو بترجمة عربية محترمة.
== فلم أُمِر بالنسيان عن حرب الشيشان الأولى
https://youtu.be/NkKmBuOSidI?si=PNVQT...
بعيدا عن هذا، أحببت تجربة معظّم بيغ قبل أن يختطف من طرف القوات الباكيستانية كما حدث لكثيرين غيره .. لم تكن تجربته في قندهار وباغرام و غوانتنامو خاصة ولا متميزة عن غيره ممن عاشوها إلا أنها كانت أسهل وأكثر طبيعية مقارنة بغيره مثل فايز الكندري(كتابه البلاء الشديد والميلاد الجديد) .. أمقت في نفسي أن عقلي عقد هذه المقارنة إذ لا أحد يستحق أن يمر بهذا الظلم مهما بلغت درجته ولا يجدر بنا أن نستخّف بمعاناة أحد لأنها لم تصل ذروتها، لكن عندما تقرأ تجارب معتقلين عانوا أضعاف ما عاشه معظّم ولمدة تفوق مدة حبسه بأربع مرات وأكثر لا تجد ما تعلٌق به حقيقة. وهذا مؤسف لأننا قرأنا وسمعنا وشاهدنا معاناة بني جلدتنا حتى اعتدنا أنها الشيء الطبيعي وكل ما دونها لا يستحق أن يذكر .. هذا فظيع في حق إنسانيتنا كمسلمين وأمقت كل من كان سببا في مثل هذا الوعي المشوه الذي صرنا نملكه!
لم تتح لي الترجمة المشوهة الاستفادة كثيرا مما قرأت، لكنها كانت تجربة مثيرة للاهتمام خصوصا بدايتها حيث يحكي معظم حالة الأقلية الآسيوية في بريطانيا التي ولد وترعرع فيها،و العصابات التي كان لابد أن يكون جزءا منها لينجو، عندما تقرأ ما سرده معظم لا تستطيع أن تربط تلك التجربة بحقيقة أنه كانت طالبا في الإعدادية أو الثانوية حينها، كانت شوارعهم ساحات حرب قد يموت فيها أحد إذا أرخى دفاعه!
ثم تجربته في العمل الإغاثي، بالمال أولا ثم بمشاركته شخصيا في قافلة الإغاثة للبوسنة والهرسك، هذه الفقرة من حياة معظم هي المفضلة عندي في الكتاب إذا أتاحت لي فرصة رؤية المسلمين هناك في ذلك الوقت بعدسة معظّم بيغ، رؤية المسلمين الشجعان الأباة الواقفين على حمى بلدانهم مجاهدين بأنفسهم وأموالهم لا فيهم خنوع ولا خضوع ولا عقدة إنهزام يشعرون أنهم يجب أن يبرروا معها قتالهم للعدوان! أحببت ذلك لدرجة أنني بحثت عن تاريخ الشيشان والبوسنة والهرسك ووجد فلما عن غزو روسيا للشيشان أترك الروابط أسفل..
وبذكري هذا فقد كانت مشاركة معظم في العمل الإغاثي بشكل متكرر وزيارته لمعسكرات المسلمين ثم انتقاله لأفغانستان () ما أثار ريبة الأمريكان فيه وجعلهم يدينونه بأسخف الجرائم .. ما أريد الإشارة إليه أن الأمريكان زجّوا بأناس كثر في غوانتنامو لم يكن حولهم ربع ما كان حول معظم من ريبة (وأن تكون مسلما تكّن عاطفة للمسلمين فقط كاف بالنسبة لهم ) لكن معظم مكث في المعتقل 3 سنوات، قضى معظمها في السجن الانفرادي حيث كان يكتب الرسائل والأشعار ويقرأ الكتب وهو أمر حين قرأته شكّكني في أنه يتحدث عن غوانتنامو التي مجرد بقاء علف تفاحة عندك فوق وقت الأكل كاف باستدعاء قوات مكافحة الشغب بدروعهم. وأسلحتهم لضرب شيخ أعزل!
فمعظّم لكونه بريطانيا كان له اماتيازات كثيرة خففت حدة تجربته ومكّنته من التواصل معهم إضافة إلى خلفيّته البريطاينة التي كانت تشعره دائما أنه منهم وليس عدوا لهم وكل ما في الأمر سوء تفاهم لدرجة أنه كان يحسن الظن في يلتمس العذر للمحققين والجنود في مواطن كانت لتجعل أي عربي يدرك الكراهة والعداء الذي يحملونه لكل ما هو مسلم!
عموما تجربة تستحق القراءة إذا كنت ستقرؤها بالانجليزية أو بترجمة عربية محترمة.
== فلم أُمِر بالنسيان عن حرب الشيشان الأولى
https://youtu.be/NkKmBuOSidI?si=PNVQT...
June 23, 2024
It's decently enough written but given the author's subsequent actions, he was not entirely truthful with the reasons why he was in Afghanistan imo. I honestly don't think he was there to build a school (as he said in the talk i went to when he was selling the book years ago). Even so he should not have been sent to Guantanamo (which should not have existed in the first place) but he openly says that he supports religious wars etc and has extremely hard line beliefs. However his treatment in Guantanamo and his experiences of oppression probably influenced his adoption or maintaining of even more extreme views, and I am giving it 2.5 stars as the book is worth reading from that perspective.
'If you don't agree with freedom of speech for people you dislike, you don't agree with it at all' - I don't know if I agree with this quote, but this book would seem to be a good example of this.
'If you don't agree with freedom of speech for people you dislike, you don't agree with it at all' - I don't know if I agree with this quote, but this book would seem to be a good example of this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2024
It is a wonderful read for all Muslims, especially those in the West. The author describes his time spent in prison, detained for being an "enemy combatant". He goes through inhumane treatment and an unjust system, where he struggles to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Despite all his hardships, he stays firm in his belief. Begg is truly an inspiring character who shows resiliency and positivity in times of struggle. It discusses the problems in the world post 9/11 that most people avoid talking about, and the injustices around the world that are unspoken or lack awareness. Making his story of resilience, how an individual stays firm on his/her beliefs while facing hardships.
August 25, 2021
This is such an important read for, well - everyone.
I had to constantly remind myself that this book is not fiction as every page became incredibly immersive - filled with debates, injustice, history, and comedy. I loved how Moazzam brought together his blunt, sarcastic, British humour with the grim conditions he faced throughout those years. He taught me so much through his retelling of conversations and travels to different countries.
Definitely an underrated, and very, very eye-opening book.
I had to constantly remind myself that this book is not fiction as every page became incredibly immersive - filled with debates, injustice, history, and comedy. I loved how Moazzam brought together his blunt, sarcastic, British humour with the grim conditions he faced throughout those years. He taught me so much through his retelling of conversations and travels to different countries.
Definitely an underrated, and very, very eye-opening book.
January 23, 2025
Very important read.
December 23, 2009
This is a very important book; This book shows how little the American intelligence really knows about the Islamic movements. He mentions that the FBI thought Tabligee Jammah ( Muslim version of missionaries) were working with al Qaeda. The truth is that they have two different ideologies and don't really get a long and tabigees don't believe in arm resistance they only work with the Muslims. American need to understand that Muslims will always care about Palestine, Kashmir and other area's that are under attack however that does not mean that they support Al Qaeda. This innocent man was sent to prison because he helped the mujahedeen, same as Charlie Wilson why is he not in Getmo? It's really unfortunetly that really struggle for freedom has been stained by these Al Qaeda terriorst.
Moazzam Begg was innocent besides what Wiki or other racist pro republican sites might claim, because as an american you are innocent until proven guilty ( unless you are a muslim or African American) since the US never charged him that means that they never had anything on him.
I think the U.S government has more on the Warlords that they are protecting with American troops then anyone in Getmo, because they all have blood on thier hands, including American blood. Please look up the history of the Northern Alliance. Watch the documentary called the convoy of death http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_M... and Nat Geo Documentary Taliban Uprising ( Battle of Qala-i-Jangi)
Moazzam Begg was innocent besides what Wiki or other racist pro republican sites might claim, because as an american you are innocent until proven guilty ( unless you are a muslim or African American) since the US never charged him that means that they never had anything on him.
I think the U.S government has more on the Warlords that they are protecting with American troops then anyone in Getmo, because they all have blood on thier hands, including American blood. Please look up the history of the Northern Alliance. Watch the documentary called the convoy of death http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_M... and Nat Geo Documentary Taliban Uprising ( Battle of Qala-i-Jangi)
January 29, 2012
This is an incredible prisoner memoir, written by a Brit who was abducted in the middle of the night from his family whilst in Pakistan, by American and Pakistani intelligence services. He was held without charge for about 4-years, in the Middle East and Guantanamo Bay, describing in detail his treatment by the guards, interrogators, Americans and Brits.
His story is an amazing story, filled with heartbreak and despair, as well as hope and humour. The writing is such that you immediately empathise and as he takes you on his journey it's hard not to feel moved, and personally I was quite upset on numerous occasions. This memoir made a big impression on me and reinforced my thoughts, and contempt, on the Americans' gross misconduct in light of 9/11.
It's a riveting read, and I'd recommend it to all.
His story is an amazing story, filled with heartbreak and despair, as well as hope and humour. The writing is such that you immediately empathise and as he takes you on his journey it's hard not to feel moved, and personally I was quite upset on numerous occasions. This memoir made a big impression on me and reinforced my thoughts, and contempt, on the Americans' gross misconduct in light of 9/11.
It's a riveting read, and I'd recommend it to all.
July 25, 2007
This is an excellent, important book to read. We so often get the government perspective of what goes on at the Guantanamo Bay dentention facilities. This man was there for 2 years apparently unjustifiably and gives a very vivid account of what life is like there and also how impossibly difficult it is for prisoners to even know why they are being held and to communicate with anyone other than the prison guards.
The beginning of the book is a little slow but it is worthwile and important in setting up the section where he goes to Guantanamo and by that point you'll find it hard to put the book down.
Read this book!
The beginning of the book is a little slow but it is worthwile and important in setting up the section where he goes to Guantanamo and by that point you'll find it hard to put the book down.
Read this book!
October 14, 2012
A fascinating and disturbing look inside the early fear and paranoia which surrounded the post 9/11 period and the start of the war on terror. Moazzam Begg and many others suffered greatly or were even killed unjustly in U.S. detention. Omar Khadr, Salim Hamdan and others make an appearance. The story is uneven, at times captivating and at other times frustratingly filled with unnecessary detail and Begg's own extended reflections, attempts to educate others, and his poetry. Still a timely read as many detainees remain in Guantanamo despite their being cleared of all charges.
December 27, 2011
A searing indictment of US foreign policy post-September 11 by an individual kidnapped from his home in Islamabad and held by the US government for over three years as an enemy combatant. Required reading, even if you believe that the War on Terror requires the suspension of civil rights, because what the government is asserting is that they can hold anyone, indefinitely and without trial. That includes your spouse, your sibling, your parent, and you.
April 12, 2013
Difficult to say I enjoyed this book, as reading very graphic descriptions of long term solitary confinement and torture was difficult at times. But this is a very important book. It is written very intelligently and sensitively and goes towards balancing the somewhat one-sided perspective we tend to be exposed to with western media.
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