Nussaibah Younis in conversation with Salma El-Wardany - Islington

Fundamentally upends and explores a defining controversy of our age with heart, complexity and humour, delivered by one of the most fearless and talented new voices in contemporary fiction.
Join us with Nussaibah Younis in conversation with Salma El-Wardany to discover this bitingly original, wildly funny and razor-sharp exploration of love, family, religion, radicalism, and the decisions we make in pursuit of connection and belonging.
When academic Nadia is disowned by her puritanical mother and dumped by her lover, she decides to make a getaway - accepting a UN job in Iraq. Tasked with rehabilitating ISIS women, Nadia becomes mired in the opaque world of international aid, surrounded by bumbling colleagues.But then Nadia meets Sara, a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just fifteen, and she is struck by how similar their stories are. Both from a Muslim background, both feisty and opinionated, with a shared love of Dairy Milk and rude pick-up lines, Sara and Nadia immediately connect and a powerful friendship forms. When Sara confesses a secret, Nadia is forced to make a difficult choice.
Dr Nussaibah Younis is a peacebuilding practitioner and a globally recognised expert on contemporary Iraq. For several years, she advised the Iraqi government on proposed programs to de-radicalise women affiliated with ISIS. She studied at Oxford, Durham and Harvard Universities, and has a PhD in International Affairs. Dr Younis was a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, where she directed the Task Force on the Future of Iraq. She has published Op-Eds in the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She was born in the UK to an Iraqi father and a Pakistani mother, and currently lives in London. Fundamentally is her debut novel.
Author, Poet, International Speaker, and BBC Breakfast Presenter,Salma El-Wardany is the author of These Impossible Things, a book released to global critical acclaim in June 2022. It was chosen as a Today Show Book Club Pick with Jenna Bush Hager and a Marie Claire Book Club Pick. Salma has also contributed essays in the bestselling anthologies, It's Not About the Burqa: Muslim Women on Faith, Feminism, Sexuality and Race, Unattached: Empowering Essays on Singlehood, and No Offence But...How to Have Difficult Conversations for Meaningful Change. For the last six years Salma El-Wardany has presented on BBC Radio London, most recently, The Breakfast Show. In addition, Salma is a two-time TEDx speaker and a global keynote speaker. She has delivered talks, after dinner speeches, and hosted panels in the UK, Nigeria, Egypt, America, and Europe. She has also written for Stylist, Red Magazine, HuffPost, Metro and The i. Salma's work centres on feminism and gender, revolving around female stories to bring the often ignored realities of women into the spotlight. She partners with global organisations, brands, and academic institutions to change the lives of women and girls.

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