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Worlds Apart: A Muslim Girl with the SAS
By the age of twelve, Azi Ahmed had been fully trained in all the skills her mother deemed essential for becoming the perfect housewife: knitting, sewing, and sitting pretty. Little did she know, a vastly different kind of training awaited her in the future.
With no prior military experience, physically slight, and socially isolated before stepping into Chelsea Barracks, Azi suddenly found herself embarking on selection training alongside eleven other women and 200 men. All were vying for a place in the British Army’s most elite fighting force—the SAS. It didn’t take long for her to realise that the physical challenges were the least of her worries.
Deep-rooted ethnic and gender prejudices pervaded her new environment. Azi was forced to defend her religion and culture within the confines of a regimented and often hostile setting—an already difficult situation made worse by the events of 9/11. As she grappled with non-halal ration packs, the squaddie drinking culture, and the most gruelling tests of mental and physical strength, her parents remained blissfully unaware of her double life. They were still focused on finding her a suitable boy to marry.
With the two most important institutions in her life—family and military—at odds, Azi faced a painful choice. Could she reconcile her ambitions with her identity, or would one side have to give way entirely?
Worlds Apart is the incredible true story of one woman’s fight not just to be the best of the best, but to remain true to herself amidst the most violent of culture clashes.
With no prior military experience, physically slight, and socially isolated before stepping into Chelsea Barracks, Azi suddenly found herself embarking on selection training alongside eleven other women and 200 men. All were vying for a place in the British Army’s most elite fighting force—the SAS. It didn’t take long for her to realise that the physical challenges were the least of her worries.
Deep-rooted ethnic and gender prejudices pervaded her new environment. Azi was forced to defend her religion and culture within the confines of a regimented and often hostile setting—an already difficult situation made worse by the events of 9/11. As she grappled with non-halal ration packs, the squaddie drinking culture, and the most gruelling tests of mental and physical strength, her parents remained blissfully unaware of her double life. They were still focused on finding her a suitable boy to marry.
With the two most important institutions in her life—family and military—at odds, Azi faced a painful choice. Could she reconcile her ambitions with her identity, or would one side have to give way entirely?
Worlds Apart is the incredible true story of one woman’s fight not just to be the best of the best, but to remain true to herself amidst the most violent of culture clashes.
317 pages, ebook
First published June 16, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 6, 2017
First, this review is a spoiler, in that the whole book is a work of fiction. This 'author' is making money of the backs of men who have walked the walk, not just woken up one morning and unloaded every soldier boy fantasy onto the page. The closest this Walter Mitty ever came to being in the Regiment is probably getting passed round the lads in the block. This lizard can't even dress herself for a promotional photo shoot without making so many mistakes the RSM of a cadet unit would want to rip her head off! I've read RAF Regiment letters to Santa that have more credibility than this oxygen thief. Am I angry? Yes! Her lies belittle the effort and sacrifice the men of our tier 1 units make to keep her boney little arse safe in her bed at night! I see she is also pursuing a career in politics, well lies and deceit are a good start! Lizard!
December 6, 2015
A bit anti-climactic. I was pumped to read this because I've considered joining the National Guard at times, and I wanted to know about Azi Ahmed's struggles as a Muslim woman in the British armed forces, but spoiler alert, the SAS still won't accept women and the book follows first her childhood in her traditional Pakistani household, then basic training, and then a political stint that may be ongoing. It wasn't exactly a revelation for me, given my familiarity with similar upbringings through friends. But it was nice to see she wasn't treated poorly, and the US is integrating women into all combat roles, so maybe we'll see some interesting stories yet!
March 22, 2017
please do not insult your veterans by believing this dribble.
October 5, 2016
Worlds Apart, by Azi Ahmed, is straplined A Muslim Girl With The SAS. As the book is described as a true story, and is written in the form of a memoir, this is perhaps unfortunate marketing as the veracity of the army section appears questionnable.
I read the book in a sitting. There is a lot about it that I found interesting. There are also elements that lead me to do further research as they did not ring true. As I gleaned my information from the internet it is hard to know what to believe but it took the shine of what could have been a fine story had it been written as a work of fiction.
The tale takes the reader through the early life of a young girl growing up in a traditional Muslim household in working class Manchester. Azi is the youngest of five children whose parents came to the UK from Pakistan a few years before she was born. They worked hard and saved, eventually opening up their own business selling halal meat. Azi describes her mother as illiterate. All her children were encouraged to gain good grades at school.
There are incidents of bullying and racism. Azi was raised to be subservient to men, trained to be a good wife and compliant member of the Muslim community. It was assumed that her parents would arrange a marriage for her. She had little knowledge of anything that went on outside of her own culture and lived a sheltered if frustrating life.
The first event that made me question the authenticity of what was being recounted was the means by which Azi attained her place at Central Saint Martins, an art school in London. It is hard to believe that such a prestigious establishment would offer a place in this way. Setting that aside, once Azi moves south, away from her family, she discovers a world she is eager to explore. Although never managing to fully shake off the shackles of cultural expectations she enjoys her freedom. She has a surprising amount of luck finding work placements and goes on to set up her own business. When this is no longer enough of a challenge a friend jokingly suggests she joins the TA.
The story of how she ends up in the army, like that of how she got into college, seems suspect. My research suggests she may have joined something like a since abandoned prototype training scheme for women wishing to experience the armed forces. It seems unlikely this was for the SAS.
Nevertheless, the reader is taken through months when Azi’s army experiences challenge her to the limits. Sometimes what she claims to achieve is quite hard to believe but I am not an expert in how much a small and slight body could endure. She comes out the other side changed. There is then a period over which few details are shared.
The final section recounts her decision to go into politics. Here the narrative comes across as somewhat self-aggrandising, which had not been the case before. If anything her childhood had been the opposite. Although she struggled with the strictures imposed on her life by her parents, she seems to have willingly worked hard and developed a strong self-reliance that stood her in good stead when she broke away.
I enjoyed reading the early chapters and valued the opportunity to learn more of a family life that is rarely opened to outsiders. It was interesting to read that Azi also considered she had no idea how those from other cultures lived. She resented the preconceptions others held about her people, the assumptions about how she must think. Nevertheless she recognised that she too harboured prejudices as was demonstrated when she discovered that a friend she valued was gay.
The writing style reminded me of celebrity memoirs I used to read. These were ghost written leading me to ponder who penned this work.
When a book is marketed as a true story and subsequently uncovered as inaccurate it can make readers angry as they feel hoodwinked. Whatever elements of this tale are true, it is an easy and often entertaining read. As an army memoir it has been badly received by those who know more about this way of life than me.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by Bookollective.
I read the book in a sitting. There is a lot about it that I found interesting. There are also elements that lead me to do further research as they did not ring true. As I gleaned my information from the internet it is hard to know what to believe but it took the shine of what could have been a fine story had it been written as a work of fiction.
The tale takes the reader through the early life of a young girl growing up in a traditional Muslim household in working class Manchester. Azi is the youngest of five children whose parents came to the UK from Pakistan a few years before she was born. They worked hard and saved, eventually opening up their own business selling halal meat. Azi describes her mother as illiterate. All her children were encouraged to gain good grades at school.
There are incidents of bullying and racism. Azi was raised to be subservient to men, trained to be a good wife and compliant member of the Muslim community. It was assumed that her parents would arrange a marriage for her. She had little knowledge of anything that went on outside of her own culture and lived a sheltered if frustrating life.
The first event that made me question the authenticity of what was being recounted was the means by which Azi attained her place at Central Saint Martins, an art school in London. It is hard to believe that such a prestigious establishment would offer a place in this way. Setting that aside, once Azi moves south, away from her family, she discovers a world she is eager to explore. Although never managing to fully shake off the shackles of cultural expectations she enjoys her freedom. She has a surprising amount of luck finding work placements and goes on to set up her own business. When this is no longer enough of a challenge a friend jokingly suggests she joins the TA.
The story of how she ends up in the army, like that of how she got into college, seems suspect. My research suggests she may have joined something like a since abandoned prototype training scheme for women wishing to experience the armed forces. It seems unlikely this was for the SAS.
Nevertheless, the reader is taken through months when Azi’s army experiences challenge her to the limits. Sometimes what she claims to achieve is quite hard to believe but I am not an expert in how much a small and slight body could endure. She comes out the other side changed. There is then a period over which few details are shared.
The final section recounts her decision to go into politics. Here the narrative comes across as somewhat self-aggrandising, which had not been the case before. If anything her childhood had been the opposite. Although she struggled with the strictures imposed on her life by her parents, she seems to have willingly worked hard and developed a strong self-reliance that stood her in good stead when she broke away.
I enjoyed reading the early chapters and valued the opportunity to learn more of a family life that is rarely opened to outsiders. It was interesting to read that Azi also considered she had no idea how those from other cultures lived. She resented the preconceptions others held about her people, the assumptions about how she must think. Nevertheless she recognised that she too harboured prejudices as was demonstrated when she discovered that a friend she valued was gay.
The writing style reminded me of celebrity memoirs I used to read. These were ghost written leading me to ponder who penned this work.
When a book is marketed as a true story and subsequently uncovered as inaccurate it can make readers angry as they feel hoodwinked. Whatever elements of this tale are true, it is an easy and often entertaining read. As an army memoir it has been badly received by those who know more about this way of life than me.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by Bookollective.
June 3, 2025
"I wasn’t just balancing two worlds; I was trying to find a place where they could both exist together."
Worlds Apart kicks off with a killer real-life premise: a Muslim woman trying to break into the SAS, one of the toughest military forces out there. Sounds inspiring, right? But the book itself ends up feeling surprisingly flat and confused. It's part memoir, part motivational speech, part action story, and none of those blend well. The tone swings all over the place, leaving you wondering what it's really trying to be.
And then there's the subtitle: "A Muslim Girl with the SAS." Spoiler alert:
What really got to me as a Muslim reader was how Islam is handled. It's barely more than background noise, and faith is often framed as a hurdle rather than a source of strength. If you're going to put your religion front and centre, you need to dig deeper than a quick mention or a hurdle to overcome. Here, it felt shallow and kind of dismissive.
There are glimpses of something compelling beneath the surface, but the execution trips over itself. Instead of a bold, authentic story, Worlds Apart feels unfinished and uncertain about its own voice.
February 24, 2019
Like many other reviewers I was left feeling rather cheated by this book. A very interesting start about what it means to be brought up in a relatively strict Islamist family and to not want to conform to their wishes. Where the book takes a dive is right where it is supposed to get interesting. It just simply isn’t believable that somebody with no previous TA service and not even able to read a map would be allowed to jump straight into SAS selection whether that was a pilot project for women or not. Unfortunately once I can’t believe part of a book then it makes me doubt the veracity of the rest of it.
April 7, 2016
I am always interested in women in military being an army wife but the title of book serious needs to be changed she is never in the sas apart from training part.
November 19, 2019
If like me you grew up reading Spike Milligan's fabulously rich and hilarious yet often poignant war memoirs then you'll absolutely hate this. Azi Ahmed should be roundly ridiculed for her ridiculous claims in this book. If you take every and any reference to her time as a Territorial Army soldier as a benchmark for the rest of the book, then the chances are its basis in fact is on a par with the most of the holy scriptures, baseless.
What actually disturbs me most, however, is that Azi Ahmed clearly requires some form of therapy or counselling to try and quell her vivid yet clearly dysfunctional imagination, especially if she is determined to serve in public office or become a voice and a role model for women, any women. Her claims are not just fantastical, but bordering on offensive to the people who she essentially slanders.
Azi Ahmed never served, never trained, never came close to doing anything with the SAS. That includes having a pint of Guinness in a pub in Hereford, which is the closest most Walter Mitty's ever got.
Be warned, there are people out there including some serving politicians and influential media pundits who believe that Azi Ahmed is the real deal. As the premise for a novel, that is a scary enough story in its own right.
What actually disturbs me most, however, is that Azi Ahmed clearly requires some form of therapy or counselling to try and quell her vivid yet clearly dysfunctional imagination, especially if she is determined to serve in public office or become a voice and a role model for women, any women. Her claims are not just fantastical, but bordering on offensive to the people who she essentially slanders.
Azi Ahmed never served, never trained, never came close to doing anything with the SAS. That includes having a pint of Guinness in a pub in Hereford, which is the closest most Walter Mitty's ever got.
Be warned, there are people out there including some serving politicians and influential media pundits who believe that Azi Ahmed is the real deal. As the premise for a novel, that is a scary enough story in its own right.
November 7, 2018
Could've been better, and title is a bit misleading. Should take out the "with the SAS" part out.
June 3, 2020
Utter bollocks. That is all. Avoid.
November 25, 2020
This book is a work of fiction. The author did NOT complete the SAS selection course.
Read
March 29, 2021-really interesting, I know nothing of the British army
-enjoyed reading about her conflicts with identity - wanting to please her Muslim parents while also wanting to explore who she is
-enjoyed reading about her conflicts with identity - wanting to please her Muslim parents while also wanting to explore who she is
February 16, 2017
Initially I thought this would be an interesting story.....it was but then there were so many unanswered questions.....it was at times hard to determine at what point in her life the main character was at. I also felt like she could have outlined more about how her parents, especially her mother passed, it was just one sentence in the final chapter that talked about how she would have wanted her parents to still be alive to witness her career taking a political route.....like what? They died, but no mention as to how....it just seemed so unbalanced as the majority of the book discussed her strained relationship with them, I would have though she would have talked a little more about their death, but it was just a bit abrupt. Perhaps the author will write a sequel to answer all those unanswered questions.
February 6, 2017
What a waste of my life! I wish I could get back the time that I spent reading this book, as all it has done is leave me incredibly frustrated at the web of inconsistencies throughout it. I was really looking forward to hearing of Ali's story, but this book was ruined for me by the complete lack of any credible evidence to her story, as women are still unable to join the SAS. Hardened, combat experienced soldiers take YEARS to prepare themselves for SAS selection, so her claims of 'going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week' and then turning up on the day to complete one of the toughest special forces selection courses in the world sounds like she is telling porkies. Even the phrase and language she uses, bring her claims into doubt. When interviewed on TV she has said that she picked up empty 'shells'... no one who I have ever served with refers to empty cases as 'shells', the British Army has always referred to 'shells' as 'brass'. Simple repeated small mistakes such as the example above just continue to make her claims more and more dubious to anyone who has ever served in the military for any length of time. It would not surprise me if book and it's military claims were all a crock of bul****, but I am more than happy to be proven wrong. If any form of evidence to her claims can be produced then I am more than happy to change my review and apologise. However until that happens I am going to carry on believing that this is a pack of rubbish and that this book belongs in the fiction section.
October 2, 2016
This is an interesting memoir of a Muslim woman and her early to mid-life. It is a useful and well written reflection on life in Britain during the 90’s for a Muslim girl growing up in a traditional family, but with very unconventional views of the world. What’s particularly unusual is that Ahmed decides to join the training for the Territorial SAS (albeit unexpectedly) Her experiences are very raw and painful, she is the most tenacious and naïve person which makes for a fascinating read. Her life after the SAS training is also unusual as she looks to become an MP—a story that is yet to be concluded. The book is well paced and Ahmed is a likeable character, but it’s lacking in depth and I would have liked to learn more about her fathers' early life, her sister and her mother. Although her SAS experience is extraordinary, for me it didn’t completely make sense, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers! It’s Well worth a read.
April 1, 2016
I saw this in the library and was so excited to read it that I finished it in one afternoon. Unfortunately, as a previous reviewer has said, it was anti-climactic. While it was very interesting reading about Ahmed's childhood and choosing her own path etc, it was super disappointing to see her time with the SAS pan out the way it did. The final portion of the book felt really rushed too, and frankly she should have waited a few more months so we could have a better idea of how her political career got on. Worth reading.
June 26, 2016
An excellent book would really recommend this to be read.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews