British Muslim Soldier

Oct 31, 2024 7:28 AM

Author:Adnan Sarwar

It isn't nice but you're an animal, so you can do it, dressed in green and brown and black waiting to be attacked and smiling because you had bullets for teeth.

Adnan Sarwar, a Pakistani boy from Burnley, joined the British Army – the White Man’s Army. Why did he do it? To prove he was as white as his friends? For Queen and Country? Or to work out who he was – British, Muslim or a Soldier? Perhaps he could be all three.

‘British Muslim Soldier’ is Adnan’s journey through the battlegrounds of war, race and identity, facing up to the often brutal realities of these fraught warzones. There is racism, family ties, tedious routine, enemies and torture. But what Adnan’s story really comes down to is love – love for his family, for his fellow squaddies – and a deep-rooted sense of identity and belonging.

…when did these clothes fit so well? When did Corporal become an older brother and when did the army become a mother? When did I become a British soldier?

Reviews

As refreshingly simple and easy to follow as it is thought-provoking

—— Management Today

Nobody describes a battle as Keegan does, vividly relating the unfolding events to the contours of the field of combat... This book is a kind of war memorial. As first-hand memory fades, The First World War honours the dead as only true history can.

—— Niall Ferguson , Sunday Times

John Keegan's The First World War can take its place alongside the other defining works he has written... The best and most approachable introduction to the war.

—— David Horspool , Guardian

A splendidly readable account of the war on all fronts, from its political and cultural origins to its bloody conclusion... Compelling.

—— Max Wilkinson , Financial Times

Excellent... The First World War tells the story with passion, sanity and the military historian's eye for overall strategy.

—— Andrew Roberts , Mail on Sunday

Beautifully written and full of telling detail... The best overall account for the general reader that has appeared since that of Cyril Falls nearly forty years ago.

—— Michael Howard , Times Literary Supplement

A splendid achievement. Many years of research, distilled with craft and conveyed in meticulous prose, make this the definitive book on the Great War… An enthralling and often very moving account of one of the great tragedies of modern history

—— Good Book Guide

Opens a unique window onto bleak interlocking landscapes-the radicalization of European Muslims that has now been energized by the Syrian civil war, the leadership and organization of global jihad, and the twilight struggle waged by western intelligence agencies against an elusive and implacable enemy."

—— Steven Simon, bestselling co-author of The Age of Sacred Terror and The Next Attack

Morten Storm, Paul Cruickshank, and Tim Lister tell an astonishing and unknown tale of the exploits, change of allegiances, double crosses and inner workings of both al Qaeda terrorist groups and the Western intelligence agencies charged with stopping them. Hard to put down

—— Mitch Silber, former Director of Intelligence Analysis at the NYPD and author of The Al Qaeda Factor

Remarkable. As a true spy-story, this book brings you incredibly close to what it actually takes to be an extremist and get into a terrorist group while balancing loyalty and treachery in the world of intelligence. Essential reading for everyone interested in how the war on terrorism is actually fought in the shadows.

—— Dr. Magnus Ranstorp, a leading expert on international terrorism

Reads like a first-rate spy thriller, but it is in fact a stunning and true inside account of the workings, personalities and mindsets of the leaders and operatives of al Qaeda and its worldwide operations . . . an indispensable guide to how the West can counter the appeal of violent jihadism

—— Washington Times

Gripping... provides valuable and fascinating insight into the quiet battle being waged between clandestine national agencies and various terrorist organizations

—— Christian Science Monitor

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