Summary
Tabish Khair: The Strange Misery of Jihad
A novel about friendship, faith and alienation, The Strange Misery of Jihad tells the story of Islamist radicalization from within. Two children of Muslim immigrants in England, industrial northerner Jamilla and rebellious Ameena become best friends, finding a community in religion and social media that is as welcoming and encouraging as their public education alienates them. After Jamilla's father dies and her brother marries, the two girls leave England and join the Islamist cause in Syria.
The intellectual and emotional poverty, as well as the violence they encounter there, creates a story that is as moving as it is heartbreaking. Like Nothing New in the West, Tabish Khair's novel reminds a new generation that heroism and sacrifice are not limited to one side in a conflict and that the first victims of a murderous regime are those who live within it.
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