CONFESSIONS OF A CONFLICTED MUSLIM
They: What Muslims And Non-Muslims Get Wrong About Each Other Sarfraz Manzoor Wildfire £20
Broadcaster and journalist Sarfraz Manzoor grew up as the youngest son of Pakistani immigrants in Bury Park, a predominantly Muslim area of Luton. His mother arrived in Britain in 1974 yet can still speak only Urdu. Escaping a stiffly traditional home environment and the prospect of an arranged marriage, Manzoor moved to Manchester to study, and later gravitated to London, where he built a successful media career.
On the surface, Manzoor is ‘a poster boy for integration’, but deep down he worries that he has travelled too far from his upbringing; his older brother jibes that he’s only interested in being a Muslim when he’s being paid to write about it. ‘If segregation refers to living in a self-reinforcing bubble,’ he ponders, ‘then maybe I do live in a segregated community – one that is, on the whole, white, well educated and well-to-do.’
They is pitched as an attempt to grapple with the prejudices and misunderstandings that hamper relations between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Britain. At heart, however, it’s a deeply personal attempt to reconcile the conflicted facets of Manzoor’s sense of self.
Each chapter interrogates fault lines concerning attitudes to violence, women, marriage, integration, education and patriotism. Manzoor doesn’t pussyfoot around persistent issues within Islamic culture in regard to antisemitism, homophobia and the grooming of vulnerable white girls. He claims that many negative beliefs associated with Islam aren’t a ‘Muslim thing’ at all, but stem instead from outdated Pakistani cultural norms.
He highlights the extent to which the weaponised grievances of extremists on both sides are rooted in religious ignorance. Koranic knowledge among jihadis is laughably poor, just as Right-wing
agitators are almost wholly illiterate on the intricacies of Islam. He interviews figures from inside and outside Muslim communities who have experienced and challenged religious intransigence.
While acknowledging the complexities surrounding these issues, They bends perhaps a little too readily towards optimism, occasionally lapsing into the well-meaning platitudes of a middleclass dinner party. It is most compelling when Manzoor writes from the centre of his own conflict and examines his default positions. In particular, he writes movingly about the toll exacted by his decision to marry a white, Scottish Christian, causing a deep rift within his family.
He ends with a eulogy to his mother. If her half-century of cultural isolation is symbolic of mistrust between communities, her ‘blameless life’ and acceptance of her daughter-in-law and grandchildren are grounds for positivity.
Manzoor doesn’t offer solutions beyond pleas for greater understanding and integration on both sides but, ultimately, the book is less about answers than the importance of asking more questions.