People Like Us

Waleed Aly

Jul 2008 · Picador Australia

About this ebook

No two civilisations have spoken so many words about each other in recent years as those of Islam and the West. And no two seem to have communicated less.

People Like Us confronts the themes that define this chasm head-on: women, jihad, secularism, terrorism, Reformation and modernity. Its piercing examination of these subjects reveals our thoughtless and destructive tendency to assume that the world's problems could be solved if only everyone became more like us. The result is deep mutual ignorance and animosity, reinforced by both Muslim and Western commentators.

As a Muslim born and raised in Australia, Waleed Aly stands at the intersection of these two civilisations. In this book, he draws on his knowledge of Western and Islamic intellectual traditions to present an analysis that is surprising and challenging, but always enlightening.

About the author

Waleed Aly was born in 1978. He is a lecturer in politics at Monash University, working primarily within the Global Terrorism Research Centre. Previously, he worked as a commercial lawyer, and he also has experience in human rights and family law.

Waleed was a board member of the Islamic Council of Victoria for over four years, and is frequently sought for comment by media outlets across Australia on a broad range of issues relating to Islam and Western Muslims. He has contributed regularly to The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and he has been commended at both the Walkley awards and the Quill Awards for his commentary.

In 2005, Waleed was appointed a White Ribbon Day Ambassador for the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The following year he was one of 90 young Australians chosen to attend the Australian Future Directions Forum to generate ideas for the next twenty years of Australia's future. In 2007, he was named one of The Bulletin magazine's "Smart 100". He is married with two children.