Rizwaan Sabir - The Suspect: Counterterrorism, Islam, and the Security State

The Suspect

An instant classic. No other book portrays the traumatising effects of British state violence with more power or lucidity. Sabirs struggle to resist and overcome injustice is an inspiration.

Arun Kundnani, author of The Muslims Are Coming! Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror

Discussions of Islamophobia are greatly deficient when they fail to tackle the ways in which the Muslim community has been perpetually securitised in uniquely nefarious ways. Rizwaan offers a compelling breakdown of what that has looked like through his own tragic experience.

Omar Suleiman, scholar, civil rights leader, writer and public speaker

Rizwaan Sabirs captivating recollection of his Kafkaesque experiences with the British counterterrorism apparatus illustrates with devastating clarity the long-term consequences of the Prevent program.

Lisa Stampnitzky, University of Sheffield and author of Disciplining Terror: How Experts Invented Terrorism

A raw, compelling account of the profound trauma, social harms and human costs generated by counter-terrorism policy.

Professor Joe Sim, Liverpool John Moores University

In this compelling journey Sabir spells out the excruciating process of being made an extension of the war on terror. Were he an employee of a pogrom-pushing, state-suckling think-tank, he may have a show on LBC, a column in The Times or even an OBE by now. Instead, he has complex trauma and the shadow of an invasive and voyeuristic state surveillance stalking him. Yet, Sabirs writing shows with such clarity and eloquence how communities of struggle can resist and fight back. Thank you for raising your voice and persevering in the face of state violence.

Lowkey, poet and rapper

Delivering a story as gripping as a thriller, Rizwaan Sabir has combined his virtues as a scholar, campaigner, and citizen to provide us with a powerful account of the mechanisms and dangers of our highly dysfunctional counter-terrorism regime. This detailed and thoughtful contribution to our common knowledge is an immense public service, and essential reading for everyone working in the fields of primary, secondary and higher education, as well as in the justice and police systems of this country.

Professor Karma Nabulsi, University of Oxford

Sabirs forensic examination sheds light on a troubling set of laws and policies that should be challenged and resisted by those who value human rights.

Imran Khan QC, Solicitor and Higher Rights Advocate

A tour de force, unique in its combination of rigorous scholarship and the knowledge that comes from personal experience.

Deepa Kumar, Professor of Media Studies, Rutgers University

Counterterrorism, Islam,
and the Security State

Rizwaan Sabir

Foreword by Hicham Yezza
Afterword by Aamer Anwar

First published 2022 by Pluto Press

New Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA

www.plutobooks.com

Copyright Rizwaan Sabir 2022

Foreword Hicham Yezza 2022; Afterword Aamer Anwar 2022

The right of Rizwaan Sabir to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 0 7453 3849 1 Hardback

ISBN 978 0 7453 3848 4 Paperback

ISBN 978 1 786807 17 5 PDF

ISBN 978 1 786807 18 2 EPUB

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.

Typeset by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England

Simultaneously printed in the United Kingdom and United States of America

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

I owe a debt of gratitude to a number of people over the years for their love, support, and trust all of which have allowed me to successfully complete this book.

My mum and dad, my brothers Irfan and Hamaad, and my sister Aneesa. Without their patience, understanding, and love, especially when matters got really difficult in 2013 and 2018, I would not have made it this far. Thank you.

Thank you to Rod Thornton for his bravery, support, and encouragement over the last decade. Rods courage and quest to hold power to account, no matter what the personal and professional costs were to him, have been more inspirational than words can convey.

Thank you to Professor Joe Sim, Ghulam Haydar, Hicham Yezza, and Fahid Qurashi for taking time out of their busy lives to comment on early drafts of the manuscript. Also, thank you to Will Jackson, Adam Elliot-Cooper, Tanzil Chowdhury, Nadya Ali, Tarek Younis, Zishan Khawaja, Yassir Morsi, Zirwa Raza, Sadia Habib, and Shabnam Mayet for reading chapters and extracts over the years. You helped me synthesise my thinking when it all stopped making sense.

I owe a special note of gratitude to Asim Qureshi for his friendship and generosity over the past four years. Asim found the time to read entire drafts of the manuscript when they made little sense, helped me recognise the role and relevance of trauma, and supported me in getting it all down on paper with empathy and without judgement. He stopped me from downplaying the significance of my experiences when I compared myself to those who had suffered a far worse fate at the hands of power and kept reminding me about the importance of finishing this book when I had wanted to give up.

Thank you to Arun Kundnani for reviewing the manuscript and going above and beyond what was expected of him. Through his meticulous and constructive feedback, he helped me tighten and focus the text. He also gave me the confidence to talk about resistance. Any mistakes or shortcomings are mine alone.

My heartfelt thanks to some friends and family members who have been by my side through thick and thin. In particular, and in no order of importance, Amreez Akhtar and Amjad Hussain for keeping me grounded and always real. Shazad Khawaja and Zafran Zaman for their unconditional friendship for almost two decades. Aunty Shaheena for adopting me as a son, Mohsin Hussain for adopting me as a brother, and both of them for giving me a home away from home. Omayr Ghani for his good company, banter, and his spare room. Sadia Habib and Ghulam Haydar for opening their home and hearts to me. Haaris Kadri for always providing an empathetic listening ear. Katy Sian for helping me intellectually and conceptually grow. Tarek Younis for being a wise sounding board despite being inundated with his own work, research, and family commitments. Thank you to the Muslim Academics for offering me a sanctuary to express myself without the fear of being judged. Your support, positivity, and jokes have kept me sane in some testing times. A huge thank you to the apes Aftab Zahoor, Lydia Leboutillier, Zirwa Raza, Haaris Raza, Hamaad Sabir, Safaa Raza, and Aneesa Sabir. Over the years, and especially the last two, your love, presence, and support has made me appreciate what Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes meant when he said, ape stronger together.

Finally, I am grateful to the team at Pluto Press and, in particular, the Editorial Director David Castle who believed in this book from the get-go and patiently stood by as my requests for extensions filled his inbox.

More than a decade after our wrongful arrests on that beautiful morning of May 2008, I still find it very difficult to think and talk about the events. There is both too much and too little to say.