The Broken Silence

Mohammed Javed

Nov 2019 · FriesenPress

About this ebook

At a time in history when fear of ‘the other’ has become commonplace, The Broken Silence is a timely book that shows a glimpse in the timeline of how Islam has been marginalized in society. It examines the impacts of economic sanctions on vulnerable populations and opens with an important essay by the author’s daughter, published in the Huffington Post, that paints a bleak picture of the human costs of years of international sanctions against Iraq, including the deaths of over half a million children as reported by the United Nations. Her argument that desperate young people are driven to commit heinous acts of terror not out of religious fervour but as misguided reactions to injustices, is to this day, little recognized by politicians or the media. This powerful memoir explores the human cost of sanctions and the author’s tireless efforts over many years to promote awareness and activism to have those sanctions lifted.

Mohammed Javed’s childhood and youth experiences instilled in him a commitment to compassion and caring. As the founder of I.LEAD (Islam. Learn. Engage. Achieve. Develop.), Mr. Javed brought together numerous groups and organizations to hold conferences to explore the many questions facing Muslims in the National Capital Region and beyond. Earlier, while living in Halifax, he became a regularly published op-ed writer. He also helped motivate Svend Robinson, then a Member of Parliament, to embrace the cause of lifting sanctions, and wrote many letters to the prime minister, cabinet ministers and interested MPs. Told with frank clarity and rounded out with copies of letters, emails, and articles, The Broken Silence explores the real causes of terrorism and its remedies. It also seeks to help non-Muslims to better understand this ancient religion and calls out to Muslims to explore the real values of Islam and regain its true spirit. Above all, it is a call for all ethnicities and religions to work collectively for a more peaceful, compassionate, and caring world for our children and grandchildren.

Many thanks to:
Lubna Javed
Shamsia Quraishi
Bassam Javed

For the insightful editing service they have rendered for this work.

Ratings and reviews

The book talks about the impact of unnecessary wars and sanctions specially Iraq's ones, explores the root cause of terrorism and subsequent rise of Islamophobia and deals with remedies to these terrible problems that the world is facing today. The message is to move on and do good and assures the readers that good will go round and come back to them bringing inner happiness. The author also talks about his unique activism to lift Iraq sanctions and combines the writing with his life stories - certainly an interesting, informative and historic book written with courage of conviction.

The enormous amount of work by the author to curate and present this important message is evident - well done!

About the author

Mohammed Javed is a retired professional engineer with international project management and construction experience. He has been an outspoken activist on social issues since immigrating to Canada in 1994 and is a published author, article writer, and public speaker. He and his wife live in Ottawa. Their three children are now married and have blessed the Javed’s with four grandchildren.