Jihadi Jane

Author(s): Tabish Khair

Location(s): Yorkshire, Syria

Genre(s): Fiction

Era(s): Contemporary

High-school best friends Ameena and Jamilla couldn’t be more different: while one smokes cigarettes in their school playground, the other is a member of her mosque’s discussion group in suburban Yorkshire. When heartbreak and doubt leave Ameena bereft and alone, she turns to Jamilla’s beloved Allah for solace and purpose.

It is then that both girls find themselves entranced by a powerful Internet preacher—Hejjiye, a woman running an orphanage-home in support of the men fighting in the name of jihad. Leaving their families and country behind, they run to join the Islamic State in Syria to serve a cause they unquestioningly believe in. But things begin to change for the worse and suddenly, the girls find themselves faced with a choice that will change their lives beyond recognition forever.

Heart-wrenching, masterful and stunningly powerful, Jihadi Jane paints a vivid picture of militant-brides operating around the world and the terrifying cost of religious fanaticism.

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