Sayeeda Warsi's Muslim Britain to be 'serialised' on Twitter

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is publishing a book with Allen Lane, The Enemy Within: A Tale of Muslim Britain, which she will be promoting through a Twitter serialisation to engage more diverse audiences.

The "timely and urgent book" suggesting "possible ways forward for Muslims", will draw on Warsi's own unique position in British life as the child of Pakistani immigrants who became the UK's first Muslim Cabinet minister to explore questions of cultural difference, terrorism, surveillance, social justice, religious freedom, integration and the meaning of "British values", according to Penguin Press.

It will also look at changing attitudes and policy, especially over the last 15 years, and examine in close focus whether the UK's counter terrorism strategy has been effective or counterproductive, and what Britain's Muslim communities might have become had the war on terror not happened. 

Warsi will spread word of the "uncompromising and outspoken" book by telling her story through a series of extracts on Twitter over five days. The tweets will be sent from her account @sayeedawarsi, linking to extracts on the Penguin website. Opinions using the hashtag #nottheenemywithin are invited.

In the serial promoting the book, Warsi will describe Britain's diverse community of Muslims before addressing four critical questions, mirroring the arc of her narrative in the book. They are: What makes a "violent" Jihadi? Why has government implemented a policy of "disengagement" towards British Muslims for nearly a decade? Are Muslims "the enemy within” as has been described and perceived? And how do we press the restart button to reboot community relations and rebuild a nation in which we are all at ease?

Warsi said the Twitter serialisation was important to her to promote debate online among a more diverse audience. "Despite the kind offer of a newspaper serialisation, I have chosen Twitter to introduce my story in my way, available to all, free of charge, anywhere in the world. I believe serialising in this way will engage a more diverse audience and promote an interactive debate online as well as constructive conversations offline," she said. 

"The Muslims, or, more politely put, the Muslim communities, are described and most often referred to as a monolithic block. Well they – we – are not," Warsi  writes on penguin.co.uk in the first extract from the book. 

After outlining Muslims' many differences, she concludes at the end of the extract, "the one thing we agree on: it really annoys us when we are collectively and individually held responsible for each, every and any individual around the world who just happened to be born into or has adopted the same religion that we were born into."

The Twitter serialisation starts today (20th March), while the book publishes in full with Allen Lane on 30th March, priced £20.