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The Battle for British Islam: Reclaiming Muslim Identity from Extremism
'Sara Khan is a fearless and principled voice in the struggle for the soul of Islam. Everyone who cares about combating prejudice should read her, befriend her and fight alongside her.’
- Nick Cohen
Across Britain, Muslims are caught up in a battle over the very nature of their faith. And extremists appear to be gaining the upper hand. Sara Khan has spent the past decade campaigning for tolerance and equal rights within Muslim communities, and is now engaged in a new struggle for justice and understanding – the urgent need to counter Islamist-inspired extremism.
In this timely and courageous book, Khan shows how previously antagonistic groups of fundamentalist Muslims have joined forces, creating pressures that British society has never before encountered. What is more, identity politics and the attitudes of both the far Right and ultra-Left have combined to give the Islamists ever-increasing power to spread their message.
Unafraid to tackle some of the pressing issues of our time, Sara Khan addresses the question of how to break the cycle of extremism without alienating British Muslims. She calls for all Britons to reject divisive ideologies and introduces us to those individuals who are striving to build a safer future.
Sara Khan is an award-winning human rights campaigner who has appeared on the BBC, Sky News and CNN, and whose writing has been published by The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and New York Times. the co-founder and director of Inspire, a counter-extremism and human rights organisation, Sara was selected as one of BBC Woman's Hour Power List: Top 10 Influencers in 2015.
www.sarakhan.co.uk
- Nick Cohen
Across Britain, Muslims are caught up in a battle over the very nature of their faith. And extremists appear to be gaining the upper hand. Sara Khan has spent the past decade campaigning for tolerance and equal rights within Muslim communities, and is now engaged in a new struggle for justice and understanding – the urgent need to counter Islamist-inspired extremism.
In this timely and courageous book, Khan shows how previously antagonistic groups of fundamentalist Muslims have joined forces, creating pressures that British society has never before encountered. What is more, identity politics and the attitudes of both the far Right and ultra-Left have combined to give the Islamists ever-increasing power to spread their message.
Unafraid to tackle some of the pressing issues of our time, Sara Khan addresses the question of how to break the cycle of extremism without alienating British Muslims. She calls for all Britons to reject divisive ideologies and introduces us to those individuals who are striving to build a safer future.
Sara Khan is an award-winning human rights campaigner who has appeared on the BBC, Sky News and CNN, and whose writing has been published by The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and New York Times. the co-founder and director of Inspire, a counter-extremism and human rights organisation, Sara was selected as one of BBC Woman's Hour Power List: Top 10 Influencers in 2015.
www.sarakhan.co.uk
256 pages, Paperback
Published July 4, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 4, 2017
The general content if this book makes for extremely interesting reading. The confirmation that it is an extremist branch of Salafist-Islamist thinking which dominates the discourse surrounding what it is to be a Muslim in the UK today, along with the failure of the traditional anti-racist groups to tackle the extreme ideology spouted is all interesting and concerning.
The structure if the book lets it down. It is a difficult book to read, not due to its content, but due to its disjointed nature. There is no natural flow to the chapters.
As well as less gender segregation within Islamic societies at universities, more Shi'i exposure within the mainstream media, this quote from the book resonates too, "whilst many anti-racist movements are more than happy to counter far-right narratives, a significant number have refused to address Islamist extremism in the misguided belief that such action would be Islamophobic."
Equality and integration, not exclusiveness will lead to a more harmonious society.
The structure if the book lets it down. It is a difficult book to read, not due to its content, but due to its disjointed nature. There is no natural flow to the chapters.
As well as less gender segregation within Islamic societies at universities, more Shi'i exposure within the mainstream media, this quote from the book resonates too, "whilst many anti-racist movements are more than happy to counter far-right narratives, a significant number have refused to address Islamist extremism in the misguided belief that such action would be Islamophobic."
Equality and integration, not exclusiveness will lead to a more harmonious society.
January 30, 2017
I give it 5 stars for the ideas and the critical thinking about how to defeat Islamism in Britain. However I give it only 3 stars for the way the book was written. It was very bitty and did not flow well. I got lost in chapter 2, I think, about the different Islamist groups and individuals. I think she assumes that her audience will mostly be fellow Muslims. However, Sara is a very brave woman to write this book. It is very comprehensive and there is no issue, organisation or individual not covered as long as they were relevant! She offers many good ideas, practical and tested ideas on how to tackle extremism. She is particularly scathing about the useful idiots on the left who conflate an attack on Islamism as an attack on the religion of Islam and followers of that faith! I hope that this book gets a wider reading than I feel it will. It was brought up on the Daily Politics, so well done to Andrew Neil for publicising the book and its ideas. I believe he even had Sara on the show. We need more moderate Muslim men and women on the media, given a chance to put forward an alternative narrative. As a Christian, our local Methodist church has good ties with our local mosque. They have come to us and we have gone to them. I think this is another good way to open relationships within the community. How can you hate someone you know and like? As Christians, we shouldn't be afraid to get to know our neighbours, whatever our faith. I hope through ecumenical work, anti-extremism work and generally being good British neighbours, we can build a society where hate is sidelined and love and acceptance is the key.
February 4, 2017
Was it fun to read? Not really.
Does it depict any/many normal people? Not really.
While the book makes some very valid points about countering extremism, it is itself championship "othering".
Ho-hum. This cost a whole £15. Who should I gift it to next?
Does it depict any/many normal people? Not really.
While the book makes some very valid points about countering extremism, it is itself championship "othering".
Ho-hum. This cost a whole £15. Who should I gift it to next?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews