HIS REPORTING EARNED HIM THE TITLE THE ‘SCUD ST UD'
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Halfa world away
It’s never been tougher to be a Muslim in Britain. In Rageh Omaar’s new book, Brian Donaldson finds a passionate assault on hypocrisy and intolerance.
f there were any doubts that the War on/of Terror is no longer alive and well. they have been well and truly smashed by recent events. The bungled liorest (late raid. in which two brothers were brutalised by police and released without charge after a week‘s
incarceration. shared top headlines with the suicide of
three inmates at (itiantanamo Bay. the Cuban concentration camp which pt'eviotisly held the Tipton Three. As the first anniversary of the London bombings approaches. tensions may further rise to fever pitch alongside the heat and linglish national pride being exercised in (iermany.
There is clearly no better time for a book such as ()nly Hal/"lgle to arrive. Subtitled ‘Being a Muslim in Britain.‘ its author Rageh ()maar has long been art
observer of war-torn [ths such as his homeland of
Somalia where he was born in NM. But it was his reporting from the frontline of Baghdad in a trademark red lTeece that tnade ()maar‘s name and earned him the title. the ‘Scud stud.‘ His daily reports had the same BBC gravitas that the old guard of John Simpson provided in (iulf War One and Martin Bell gave Us in Bosnia. His journalism landed him a place in the l()()
Great Black Britons poll alongside the likes of
Crimean War nurse Mary Seacole. l‘)th century composer Samuel (‘oleridge Taylor and Lenny Henry. bttt he is now trying to put on-the-ground reportage behind him by taking up a new job presenting documentaries on controversial Arab channel Al Jazeera from their London branch.
And for the last year he has been writing ()II/_\‘ Half
ofMe. a part-memoir. semi-analysis of the problems
30 THE LIST 132 Jun—(3 Jul 2006
faced by Muslims in liurope in the post—7/7 environment. The book features quite a lot of pointing at the hypocrisy inherent in Western media attitudes to Islam. Last summer. the name of Yassin llassan ()mar
was widely reported in the media. having been one of
the failed suicide bombers from the 3| July attacks in London. ()mar had rejected any notion of the modern Mtislim. one who could make a life happily in a non- Muslim country. Having attempted to do his bit in wiping it all away. he received the scorn of civilised society. (‘ontrast this to the story of Ayaan Hersi Ali. another Mtlslim who had also rejected notions of a place for Islam in contemporary society. Aligning herself with right-wing anti-Arab zealots in Holland (including the filmmaker Theo van (iogh and politician Pim l’ortuyn both of whom have been murdered for their views). she has been voted into the Dutch Parliament and been revered by Western media for her stance against Islam: not jttst the fundamentalist kind. though. but all shades of the faith. describing the Prophet Mohammed as a 'pervert‘ and a ‘tyrant‘. She too wants it all wiped away.
Many people have low opinions of biased reporting. Many of those people have their own agenda. But when establishment insiders such as Rageh ()maar stands up to tell us that Western news organisations are slanting their reporting of the lives of Muslims and are perpetrating a ‘fraud‘ with their misleading coverage of the war in Iraq. it's time to sit up and take notice.
Only Half of Me is published by Viking on Thu 29 Jun.
* Borders Book Festival Take a quick jaunt down the road to see the likes of AL Kennedy (not doing stand-up). Rory Bremner (not doing stand- up) and Ian Rankin (not doing stand-up: we think). Various venues, Melrose. Thu 22—Sun 25 Jun.
* The Edinburgh Book of “twentieth-Century Scottish Poetry Some of our top stanza scribes guide us through this mammoth tome. The likes of Janet Paisley and Alan Riach will be at your disposal. National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, Wed 28 Jun.
* Denise Mina An appearance and a new book from Scotland's Grande Dame of Death (not something she's readily known as. just thought we'd coin something) as her new heroine Paddy Meehan gets up to her elbows in corpses. See review. Ottakar’s, Glasgow, Wed 5 Jul; Bantam Press.
3|! Rageh Omaar The BBC's man in Africa/lraq/Britain brings us a passionate plea for tolerance with Only Half of Me. See preview, left. Viking.
* Tom Bissell For God Lives in St Petersburg, this American writer drew heavily on his own experiences of living and working in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia and gives us a sextet of tales to make the senses throb. See review. Faber.
3|! George Saunders And yet another hotshot US scribe lays it on thick with a quirky novella and a bunch of idiosyncratic vignettes in The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil. See review. Bloomsbury.
* Brian Auanello a Eduardo Rlsso lf labyrinthine comic noirs are your bag. then the ninth volume of 100 Bullets should get the hardbolled juices flowing. Law enforcers and steely assassins come to a head in this criminal explosion. See review. Vertigo/Titan.