It’s not often we get an opportunity to publicly acknowledge and thank those who have shaped your life, views, opinions and decisions. I’m therefore going to use mine liberally.
I start with my best friend, confidant and adviser – my husband. Iftikhar is my most honest critic, my unstinting support, who has spent years driving me around the country to attend political and community events, ensured my notes are in order, my hair is in place and a fresh latte and water appear at regular intervals and all the while pursuing his own career, caring for our children and running the business. He has been graceful and understanding as I’ve cancelled many a family holiday, romantic meal, birthday and anniversary celebration at short notice and has been the efficient back office to my very chaotic public life. But most of all, after a fraught first marriage, you taught me the real meaning of love: non-stifling, compromising, selfless, respectful and enduring. Thank you.
This book would not have been written if I had not served in government. So I owe this book first and foremost to Keith Sibbald, the Dewsbury constituency chairman who presided over my parliamentary selection in 2004. Keith, his wife Jennie, Colin and Bev Fretwell, Kath Taylor and James, Martyn Bolt, Khizar Iqbal, Salim Patel, Naeem Hashmi, Bhai Javed Iqbal and that dynamic trio of brothers Hamid, Khalil and Rashid-ur-Rehman were a small but uniquely formed core team of volunteers who were there at the start of my political journey, and I will forever be grateful for their support.
But mostly I am grateful to David Cameron, who appointed me to the Lords and asked me to serve in his shadow cabinet and cabinet. David and I agreed on most things; where we didn’t is covered in this book. He made possible the privilege of me serving my country at the top table. I will always value the opportunities he gave me, his infectious humour and his frank and open approach to discussions. I was alongside him as he started his journey as leader of the Conservative Party, and I’m pleased we were on the same side when he ended that journey. He is an intrinsic part of my tale of Muslim Britain.
I’ve had the benefit of working with some of the greatest brains and some inherently decent individuals both in government and the Conservative Party. It would be impossible for me to mention them all, but a few have had lasting impact. Michael Lord Howard of Lympne was an early mentor and remains someone whose intellect, reason and friendship I continue to value. Trish Baroness Morris talent-spotted me and was always there through the good times and not so good. Francis Lord Maude was the ultimate modernizing chairman. Ken Clarke, my political crush, was by far one of the cleverest and nicest people to work with. Dominic Grieve’s commitment to the rule of law and basic decency, and Alan Duncan’s unstinting support for fairness over political positioning, inspired me. I must also include my ‘chum’ Sir Eric Pickles, who taught me the art of the survival of the underdog; Andrew Feldman, my co-chairman, who alongside me fought many a battle to make our party more inclusive; Justine Greening, whose innate common sense made many a government meeting ‘normal’; and the formidable William Hague, with whom I had the privilege of working at the Foreign Office.
My private office in both the party and government kept the wheels turning: Chief of Staff Richard Chalk, whose speech therapy and elocution advice serves this comprehensive-educated politician well to this day – his current role as Head of RICU (the Home Office Research Information and Communications Unit within the office for counter-terrorism) makes me sleep that little more easily at night; Ed Young and Jess Cunniffe, speechwriters extraordinaire; Jennie Gorbutt, who is by far the best PA, all-round office- and life-organizer I have ever worked with; Gulsum Aytac, who joined me as a timid new graduate and grew into a superb campaigner; private secretaries Ed ‘Miliband’ Roman, Anna Shotbolt, Steven Wignall, Kate Rudd, Ryder ‘never flustered’ Thomas, Nick ‘simply amazing’ Heath and Beth Dyson. I especially want to thank ‘the team’ who held it together in my last few agonizing weeks in government: Matt Forman, Mandip Sahota, Nina Milne, Chris Freestone, Rosie Jones, Rhodri Jones, Will Johnson, Andrew ‘sunshine’ Davies and the brave Gillie Severin, who ‘ran the gauntlet’ to deliver the news of my resignation. I thank them all for their belief in my many causes in government, their support in the many battles which weren’t easy but above all their loyalty and friendship in often difficult times.
I reserve my deepest gratitude for Eric Ollerenshaw, my PPS, and Naweed Khan, my special adviser. Their honesty, humour and friendship are as priceless today as they were over a decade ago, and I’m sure both their political careers could have been more fruitful had they been prepared to ‘not support’ me. I thank them for the sacrifices they both made.
I also want to thank Nick Clegg, my partner in crime on many an issue on human rights and civil liberties, and without whom government decision-making during Coalition years would have been less considered.
This book is the product of years of experience and hundreds of conversations with individuals, some with whom I profoundly agree and others with whom I disagree. But their input has been invaluable in helping form the arguments.
I’m grateful to the scholarly guidance and sounding board offered by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the time given by the Chief Rabbi and his office, the frank and enlightening discussions with Pir Imdaad Hussain, the visionary Qari Asim, Maulana Shahid Raza, Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, Ajmal Masroor and the pioneering Syed Ali Rizwi.
I’m grateful to the many, many activists working on the ‘Muslim issue’, often as volunteers and often with little credit, who have given me historical context and have both questioned and helped inform my own thinking. I would need a whole book to mention you all, so I will mention the key individuals who gave up valuable time to discuss specific issues with me: Sir Iqbal Sacranie and Miqdaad Versi from the MCB; Sughra Ahmed from the ISB; Julie Siddique from Sadaqa Day; Maajid Nawaz, Haras Rafiq and Usama Hasan from Quilliam; journalist and commentator Yasmin Alibhai-Brown; Sufyan Ismail and his colleagues from MEND; Fiyaz Mughal from Tell MAMA with whom I have worked, agreed and argued with for over a decade; and Waqar Azmi, who delivered my vision of Remembering Srebrenica at a level I possibly couldn’t even have dreamed of.
I want to pay tribute to Iftikhar Awan, Akeela Ahmed, Sarah Joseph, Mudassir Ahmed, Iqbal Bhana, Dr Chris Allen and Nick Lowles, who served on the cross-government working group on anti-Muslim hatred during my time in government and continue to fight a sadly losing battle on the issue of Islamophobia, often to personal detriment.
I’m grateful to the sisterhood, especially Shaista Gohir, CEO of the Muslim Women’s Network, Hifsa Shaheen, Salma Yaqoob, Selina Ullah, Naheed Majeed, Sabbiyah Pervez, Koser Shaheen, Shazia Awan, Adeela Shaffi, and Shelina Jan Mohammed, for their support and guidance on difficult and challenging issues and their bravery in continuing to tackle many a taboo issue, and my two girl crushes the super clever academic and statistician Dalia Mogahed and the talented glass-ceiling-breaker Sapnara Khatun, aka Her Honour Judge Sapnara.
I also thank my parliamentary colleagues Yasmin Qureshi, Shabana Mahmood, Naz Shah, Roshanara Ali, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, Merril Baroness Hussain-Ece, Pola Baroness Uddin and Haleh Baroness Afshar, women from across the political divide who have chosen to step out, often fighting battles on many fronts, both within and outside. I continue to be impressed by your bravery: you are part of a generation of amazing Muslims who convince me that the real powerhouse within ‘the community’ is surely the women.
Conversations with the ‘brothers’ too were vital in the writing of this book. I’m especially grateful to Mayor Sadiq Khan, Humza Yousaf, MSP, Ed Husain of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, journalists and commentators Mehdi Hasan, Sarfraz Manzoor, Aaqil Ahmed, head of religion at the BBC, Jehangir Malik, CEO of Muslim Aid, Dr Hany El-Banna, Karim Sacoor and my ever-supportive friend and mentor Shabir Randeree, chairman of Mosaic and chancellor of the University of East London.
When I started this book I didn’t realize just how much more time I would spend reading than writing. I had the luxury of immersing myself in amazing academic works. I’m especially grateful to Professor John Esposito of Georgetown University, Washington, DC, Professor Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic Studies at the American University, Professor Khizar Ansari of Royal Holloway University of London, Professor Matthew Goodwin of the University of Kent, Professor Tariq Modood of the University of Bristol, Dr Francesco Ragazzi, assistant professor at Leiden University and Associate Professor Imran Awan of Birmingham City University, for what often became long and detailed debates. Their valuable insights prompted me to challenge my sometimes fixed and rigid views and provided the much-needed academic rigour, challenge and reflection a subject this serious required.
I’m indebted to a number of individuals who have provided me with their unique insight and expertise on specific chapters: Charles Clarke and John Denham for enhancing my understanding of the Labour years; Sir Jonathan Powell for his Northern Ireland and wider experience of tackling terrorism; Sondos Asem, President Morsi’s former international media coordinator, for her helpful challenges and background information; Maz Saleem, the daughter of the tragically murdered Mohammed Saleem, for speaking so frankly and candidly about the loss of her father and how officialdom failed them as a family; and Mohammed Riaz, both for his continued support and historic experience of the Conservative Party; Owen Jones and Peter Tatchell for differing perspectives on how we fight the scourge of Islamophobia alongside other forms of bigotry, including homophobia; and Mark Gardner from the Community Security Trust and David Feldman for explaining and testing some of my thinking around both historic and current forms of anti-Semitism. I want to pay special tribute to the formidable Gerald Ronson, someone with whom I have more things in common than issues upon which we disagree and someone whom I admire as a staunch defender and protector of his community. Britain’s Muslim communities would be lucky to have a Gerald Ronson of their own.
I’m obliged to Sir Peter Fahy, former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police; Liam Byrne, MP; Aiden Harris and Amrit Singh from the Open Society Foundation for their perspectives on the Prevent programme; and David Anderson, QC, both for his unique and informed insight and for agreeing to grace the cover of this book. David, along with Helena Kennedy, QC, and Peter Oborne, are individuals who continue to inspire me, and I feel humbled that they all agreed to both read the book and provide comment.
Sir Stephen Bubb, former head of ACEVO, has been a fearless advocate for the charitable sector and provided much-needed support for many a ‘Muslim’ charity which has come under fire from many, including the Charity Commission. I am grateful for his courage and that of brave and principled civil servants at the Charity Commission who continue to inject reason in an often unreasonable debate.
And I want to especially thank Francis Campbell, vice chancellor of St Mary’s University, who is convinced I am a ‘shy Catholic’. His experience and enthusiasm were a necessary and much-valued tonic during government and remain so.
There were many I spoke to during the writing of this book to try to understand their different perspectives, from my former colleague Paul Goodman, Tim Montgomery, former editor of Conservative Home and columnist at The Times, Lord Pearson, with whom I’ve had fascinating conversations around the ‘interpretations’ of the Qur’an and his solutions to the current challenges, and Mohammed Khan from Prevent Watch. We may not always agree but I hope we will always fight for the other to be heard.
It it with sadness that I acknowledge ‘Baba’ F. D. Farooqi, a businessman, writer and adventurer who insisted I write. I promised him that one day I would. I wish you were still with us to see that I kept my promise. And the vivacious Ali Gunn: three years on I still can’t believe you are no longer with us. A very bright light went out when you left us, and I will feel your absence most as I launch this book. God bless you both.
This book could have simply remained an idea if I hadn’t been cajoled into writing it by the formidable human rights defender Shami Baroness Chakrabarti. Thank you for your years of friendship, for inspiring me to think in ‘principles’ and for introducing me to Tracy Bohan, my super agent, who allowed me to focus on the writing as she dealt effortlessly with the more mundane bureaucracy.
I’d like to thank my editor Helen Conford, who perfected the art of influencing me without appearing to do so – her guidance and regular suggestions made this a ‘grown-up’ book rather than a political memoir – her editorial colleague Shoaib Rokadiya, copy-editor David Watson, who injected order into the multiple drafts and citations, and the publicity team at Penguin, especially Penelope Vogler and Matthew Hutchinson.
And finally I want to thank those who make my ‘real’ life real: my ‘school friends’, aka the trenchcoat mob – I love the way you allow me a safe sanctuary to be me away from the very public and heady world of politics; the trustees, volunteers and employees of my ‘charity world family’, at both the Savayra Foundation and the BW Foundation – you are the stalwarts who support me in fulfilling my real passion: the fight for social mobility, women’s rights and freedom of religion and belief. I want to single out Tariq, Lord Ahmad, the ‘other sibling’ with whom I have shared both my political and personal journeys: thank you for your unquestioning support and for being there during the highs and lows. I’d like to thank my amazingly clever, successful, hilariously funny and brutally honest sisters, Baji, Nasra, Naheed and Bushra, my best friends. What a wonderful adventure we’ve had together. You ground me, make me feel strong, anchor me, infuriate me because you understand me so well, but most of all your love continues to remind me that we were lucky to be ‘all girls’. Thank you for your support in the many – and there have been enough – mad dreams I dream. My parents: Mum, the strong, driven and single-minded presence in my life who fought the battles for her girls to have the opportunities that shaped our lives, and Dad, my rock, a man of deep faith, with a huge sense of self-belief and determination, which he instilled in me, and the ultimate feminist who thinks ‘his girls’ should run the world as they would do so far better than the men. I am beyond lucky to have you as my parents. And finally my children. Aamna, who has and continues to be, much to my surprise, the ‘perfect child’, who, despite my many work absences throughout her life, has never judged, complained or guilt-tripped me. You continue to amaze me as you chart your own future career and you remain my greatest success. And our other children, Arfan, Naailah, Ayman and Zayn; I was lucky in later life to be blessed with you as my children and to receive the gift of a large, warm and loving family. All five of you have played your part in carving out a ‘normal’ family life for an ‘unconventional’ mum inhabiting a very unusual world. I was amazed by your maturity as you offered to live a ‘social-network-free life’ for many a month when we were hounded by the press and media – it wasn’t easy for you as teenagers. Thank you all for your understanding, patience and love.