The fear that we will end up in a Europe filled with people living in parallel realities lies simmering beneath the surface in Abid Raja’s new book. At the end of the book, Raja stands barefoot on Ishøj beach in Zealand and ponders why they never went here, when he visited his aunt in Denmark: Surprised the nation It is now four years since the Liberal politician surprised the nation with an autobiography that hit like a bomb. GROWING UP IN SHAME AND VIOLENCE: Abid Raja talked about illness, violence and shame in his previous book “My fault”. For that he won both the audience and several awards. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB “My fault” (2021) was a furious and moving story about a child who dragged his foam rubber mattress out of the municipal apartment and up the stairs to the drying loft. To spare the family the smell that came as a result of the fact that he had been born with a malformation of the rectum. Abid Raja had also written about the mistreatment during his upbringing. It was only with “My fault” that he figured out how to tell the story so that it reached more people. As a modern folk tale, it was also full of good helpers who gave hope to the protagonist Abid. The fact that he told his story of growing up to the entire Norwegian people also meant a break with his parents – and with them his extended Pakistani family, who live scattered in several countries in Europe. Directly broadcast The Book of the Year continues where the previous one left off. At a wedding in Pakistan, there is an opportunity for reconciliation between father and son. The wedding guests in Pakistan livestream via WhatsApp that father and son Raja have become friends again. Then follows a stream of invitations from relatives all over Europe – and an opportunity to reconnect with his Pakistani family tree that has been transplanted into European soil. WRITING THEIR LIVES: Abid Raja and Nadia Ansar are married, and both have written books about growing up in opposition to the values and expectations of their Pakistani family. Photo: Patrick da Silva Sæther / news New shades From here, the personal story develops into a political travelogue through Great Britain, Denmark and Spain. Through the relatives, we get a picture of how different European countries have dealt with Muslim immigration in different ways. But these meetings with the relatives he has not seen for a long time also have another function. They nuance the “My fault” story. Was there another mother than the curmudgeon, the housewife from the flat in Iladalen? What does it mean that the father is able to say sorry, and in addition has such a high star in the family village of Mohri Sharif? What distinguishes Raja from other traveling writers, such as Morten Strøksnes, Erika Fatland, Åsne Seierstad, and recently also historian Nils Rune Langeland, is precisely that he is the child of immigrants with a Muslim background. THROUGH EUROPE: At an election event in 2021, just before Raja became Minister of Culture and Equality. In his second autobiographical book, the ex-minister seeks out both family and professionals in European countries. Photo: Eskil Wie Furunes / news This is actually more reminiscent of the book by Aftenposten commentator Nazneen Khan, who in her book “London – among gangsters, rabbis, oligarchs, rebels and other true-born children of the British Empire” also focuses on the contribution of immigrants to our common European history. Raja is an inspiring and fun tour guide. Only in Berlin does he stumble a little. After a marathon “completed in a perfectly OK time”, he wrongly places the districts of Kreuzberg and Neuköln in the east! Raja is neither a journalist nor a historian, but talking to people, he has been doing that non-stop since he started as a young politician. Flattening When Raja talks to politicians and academics, the book changes character from touchingly autobiographical to flattening out as contemporary political portrayal. Not least about how conversations around immigration and integration have changed over the past 10–15 years. This part of the book speaks more to the brain than to the heart. But even in this hybrid part, it feels urgent and acute throughout. As he himself writes somewhere: Now is the time! Raja’s fears Abid Raja sees new values, and not least he talks to people who, like himself, are concerned with what many of us fear: that we will not succeed in uniting people. He fears that the forces that want to divide us will win. With this year’s book, Abid Raja has burst out of the autobiographical framework. He writes from a minority perspective, but with his desire for reconciliation he has a large European majority on his side. news reviews Photo: Cappelen Damm Title: “Our honor and our fear – A personal journey in Muslim Europe” Author: Abid Raja Publisher: Cappelen Damm Genre: Nonfiction Number of pages: 270 Date: 22 August 2024 ISBN: 9788202846251 Listen to the radio documentary « Abid and the good helpers” on news Radio: Hi! I read and review literature on news. Please also read my review of “Kairos” by Jenny Erpenbeck, “Details” by Ia Genberg, or Franz Kafka’s “The Process” translated by Jon Fosse. Published 22.08.2024, at 10.02
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“Our honor and our fear” by Abid Raja – news Culture and entertainment
