FUNDAMENTALLY

This debut novel by Dr Nussaibah Younis, a peace-building practitioner and academic with many years of experience working in Iran, is a realistic, valuable and human story about the complexities surrounding deradicalising women affiliated with ISIS. Told through the eyes of two Muslim women on different sides of the spectrum, Younis uses her intricate knowledge and experiences to bring the human side to the multifaceted undertaking of trying to help young captive women being held in ISIS camps.

Dr Nadia Amin is a lecturer in criminology at UCL. Her life in London has reached a crucial turning point. Disengaged from her mother and Muslim values, her toxic relationship with Rosy has suddenly come to an end and her partying liberal lifestyle is proving to be harmful and overwhelming. However when Nadia’s published article proposing techniques for the deradicalisation of ISIS brides wins her high plaudits, she is offered a sabbatical in Iraq by the UN to run UNDO, to implement her recommendations. Somewhat impulsively, she decides to accept the role.

The task is understandably more difficult than Nadia could ever have imagined and she finds herself confronting never ending red tape, obstacles and corruption in addition to hoping these women living in the ISIS camp are suitable for conversion. Nadia finds herself working alongside a diverse mix of those who can cope and survive working in Iraq, immediately taking comfort from the likeable uncomplicated Tom, and gradually forming relationships with the combination of the well-connected Frenchman Pierre, the divorced African Charles who works at UNICEF, the political activist Sherri, delusional Sheikh Jason and their loyal local guide and driver Farris.

The situation becomes skewed when Nadia meets Sara, a young ISIS bride from London with attitude. Sara reminds her of her younger rebellious self and how easily she could have been persuaded to join ISIS and abandon her family. Nadia’s determination to help Sara, who she firmly believes has been brainwashed, means she takes unnecessary risks and overlooks the key question, of whether Sara does have the same values as she does. It also allows Nadia to delve into the complex relationship she has with her mother, who was widowed when she was a toddler and who she believes has never been able to accept her for who she is.

Set in 2019, this story will open your eyes to the lives these abandoned young women live in the Islamic State camps. Younis has been very careful to not take sides, making it a human story from all points of view, a remarkable achievement. There is humour throughout, particularly exposing the faults of her characters (Nadia arrives with a designer handbag), together with comical skirmishes and encounters mixed into the seriousness of a complicated issue. A good choice for lively book club discussion.