Only Half of Me

by Rageh Omaar

A Muslim boy goes to a madrassa in Mogadishu to learn the Koran. His parents take him on two pilgrimages to Mecca. He arrives in Britain as a child just as Somalia collapses into a state of civil war that will continue throughout his childhood and prevent him from going home. To the media, government and general public this is the classic background story of the most feared figure of our the young, male, black, British Muslim. It is also the story of Rageh Omaar's childhood. Rageh Omaar's unique and profoundly moving book is the story of his childhood in Somalia, his family's attitude to religion, his double life as a British Muslim and that of other British Muslims. Full of humanity and rage, empathy and insight, Only Half of Me takes us into lives that are widely misunderstood, and tries to make sense of our own fractured world.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Somalia

Paperback

First published May 30, 2006

Reviews

[Keith Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up purely because I recognised the name of the bright young journalist Rageh Omaar. And I'm glad I did. What I didn't realise was that Rageh is Somali by birth and a Muslim.

It's a great little book and an easy read - other than reminding us of what an intolerant nation we can be...

As Rageh states, "It is only when the voice of the individual is lifted above the waves of condemnation that all of us can begin to see more clearly and perhaps start to realize that our worlds are not actually in conflict after all."

Do read this book.

[Iqra Choudhry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touching account of what it's like to be British, brown and Muslim. I loved this.

[Rahma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Autobiography/political analysis/polemic by British Somali, previous BBC, now al-Jazeera, reporter Rageh Omar. Provides an interesting peek into the long suffering and not often heard British Somali community but aspires to be too much at the same time, lacking a consistent narrative arch or perspective. Omar is angry about the image of British Muslims in the Western media, and rightfully so, but unfortunately his polemic is often too apologetic and his observations too cliched to be convincing--in spite of his important plea for the importance of the individual voice, which is the central argument he makes.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author talks about his background and tries to understand why some Muslim's become terrorists and most do not. In this he is only partially successful, however this book does give a lot of interesting background information about the Muslim world.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rageh Omaar is clearly a journalist and not an author of extended pieces. While nice in theory, Only Half of Me dashes about without a coherent path. There are interesting anecdotes which are clearly intended to make a point about identity politics (n.b. one I would struggle to disagree with), but which ultimately offer scant evidence in support - and indeed, I've used 'anecdote' for a reason. This is interspersed with some kind of primer on the history of Islam, not just in Omaar's native Somalia, but also in Iraq, Iran, and Jordan. Unfortunately, given the context of a 200-page book of which half is dedicated to the aforementioned anecdotes, this just comes across garbled and is very hard to get through. There are some points at which genuine emotion is aroused, but that is the only redeeming factor of what is ultimately a distinctly poor book.

[Leo Africanus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decidely mediocre. Marred by some shocking factual (mainly arabic) inaccuracies including the derivation of his own name! Makes you wonder how much of an insight he really derived from the Baghdad cafes he frequented during his time in Iraq.

[South · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving account of being second generation Muslim in Britain. Full of empathy, humanity and insight into life as a Muslim in modern Britain.

[Rachael]

I am surprised to find him less sophisticated in memoir form than on Al Jezeera. Still, I love him.

[Adam Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

comes over as a human tale of very much misunderstood poeple,