“The Muslim Problem” , “a wake-up call for non-believers and a passionate new framework for Muslims to navigate a world that is often set against them.” according to the goodreads description of the book. I started this book very enthusiastically despite my distaste of listening to the audiobooks and sadly it too was a failed attempt as i didn't finish the book.


I would have maybe finished the book if I was reading the paperback edition of the book, listening to the audiobook of this book in general and of non fiction in specific was a bit difficult. This book caught my attention with its title and I requested it on netgalley for the audiobook edition as the ebook version wasn't available. I started listening the very next day and the introduction impressed me a bit more. But as soon as I started to get into the book the undertone of its language gradually started to make me uncomfortable. I still ignored it because of the fact that a lot of the factual information explained in the book was new to me and I wanted to take in as much as I could. The book is called to be the one which breaks stereotypes and the social standard set against the Muslims but more than a few times it felt like contradicting itself to the promises it sounds to be making and the things the author himself has put in the introduction. I wish I read the book instead of listening to it, I would have discussed the phrases and sentences that made me uneasy a bit more properly but okay, maybe some other day.


The research work was informative, the issues the author chose to discuss regarding the stereotypes and problems Muslims face in UK and around was good as well but somehow it seemed that the author wanted to set a frame for Muslims, for Islam to set fit on the western standards. His discussion on the behaviour and attitude of western media, politicians and people in general was so apt but while talking about the Muslims , his emphasis on the minority of them not integrating with others and especially not celebrating christmas with no data provided on this matter was irritating and i quite didn't get the fuss about it.


I didn't get the purpose of the book by the time I was 50% into it. The author putting one argument and then contradicting it himself and doing something very close to victim blaming was really putting me off and I was frustrated by the time I read the phrase “Hadith aren’t reliable” , I was out, seriously? You can discuss the reliability of hadith , of the narrators and other things but canceling everything without any data, and factual errors was really an unfair thing to say. Not being able to figure out what I would get out of the book, I stopped reading.


The narration of this book was not as irritating as I expected it to be but the way the name of the asian countries and people was narrated was a major turn off. Although the narration was quite slow and being someone from a non English speaking background , it turned out to be very easy to understand unlike the other audiobooks I had heard.

Interesting but sad to hear how some Muslim people experience Britain.
Counters stereotypes about Muslims with stereotypes about British people (who are not necessarily Christians).
I didn't find this an easy listen.

The Muslim Problem is a dissection of five myths through which the majority of the Western world view both Islam and Muslims. Written by Immigration Solicitor and Human Rights Activist, Tawseef Khan, it is an exploration of the historical relationship between the West and Islam and the impact that Islamophobia and religious dogma has on Muslims living in the West today. Compellingly arguing that each of these extreme viewpoints be held to account for the harmful stereotypes they perpetuate.

What struck me almost instantly when I started listening to this audiobook was it’s tone. There’s a depth of empathy in Khan’s writing that draws you in and makes you want to take in every single word. On the surface this audiobook is an informative look at modern Islam but at its heart it’s an internal struggle with identity. The historical context, the studies and the topics chosen are all drawn from the same foundation. One that asks, how can you be Muslim in modern western society? When on one side you have Islamophobes calling in to question your place in that society because of your religion and on the other you have dogmatic Muslims questioning your commitment to that religion because of the society you are part of. Khan even speaks openly in the introduction about his own struggle in defining his relationship with Islam and this grants an additional power to his words. He isn’t expecting you to dramatically change your worldview. He’s simply asking you see him as a person, not a religion.

The main body of the audiobook is split into five hour long chapters. Each providing an in-depth look at harmful stereotypes that Islamophobes use to justify their racism and extremists use to justify acts of terrorism. Khan delves into the history of Islam’s relationship with the west. Charting it’s path from the growth of the Islamic empire during the middle ages where many of today’s stereotypes were formed, to the colonization of Muslim countries by the British empire that directly influnced what is seen as extreme religious practice today. He also unravels the origin of the cultural practices that have formed around Islam. How following the Prophet Muhammad’s death, hundreds of hadiths were written with varying creditably, that some Muslims used to wield power over others. Urging contemporary Muslims to reflect on their own interpretations of Islam. Though rich in detail, Khan delivers this information brilliantly, so that even listeners with no prior knowledge of Islam leave with an overview that doesn’t overwhelm. In fact for me it has sparked a desire to learn more about this era of history I was previously unaware of.

It was the modern context however that drew the most visceral reactions from me when listening. Whilst I have not been ignorant of the growing prevalence of Islamophobia following the 9/11 attacks in New York, I hadn’t comprehended how far reaching this targeted hatred has become. How Muslims are fast becoming the most targeted minority in the west and the disturbing rise of homonationalism within the far right. It illustrates the need for this book. For us to cultivate empathy through education rather than be consumed by the destructive nature of fear. That is the tool that Khan provides with this work, for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

I also must mention the captivating narration by Taheen Modak as I kept forgetting that this wasn’t an author read. Modak truly connects with Khan’s writing. The empathy, the compassion, the willingness to learn all comes through in Modak’s delivery. Allowing a heavy subject to connect with the listener in a way that stays with you. And it really does. For there is a heart to this audiobook that ignites a desire to be better, not fuelled by shame or guilt but by compassion.

Tawseef Khan's The Muslim Problem is a comprehensive exploration into the ideas that UK society particularly has formulated surrounding what it means to be Muslim.

Khan breaks down common misconceptions which surround western Muslims. The book is split into 5 chapters, which looks at Gender, Sexuality Integration and other prominent issues. Khan breaks down each of these individual topics and attempts to bring to light how these misconceptions begin, and how they can be dispelled.

This was a really interesting read, and I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. I gained a lot of new knowledge from this, and I would really recommend this to anyone wanting to better understand the Islam and the western Muslim experience.

This was an eye-opening piece of non-fiction about the experiences Muslims face every day in Western society. The book addresses common misconceptions about Islam that were really important to hear about as a non-Muslim.

I found the book a lot more digestible as an audiobook, particularly the religious parts. It's hard to comment on those sections as a non-own voices reviewer so I recommend you seek out reviews from own-voices reviewers. Despite this though, I think this book is really important for non-Muslims to really understand the myths around the religion and I think there's definitely a lot of take aways that we can learn from and hopefully adapt our behaviour going forward.

I would recommend this audiobook as it's easy to listen to in short sections at a time to really widen your understanding about the misconceptions of Muslims, particularly living in the West.

In this non-fiction, often academically toned book, each chapter addresses one of 5 misconceptions of the Muslim community, often levied by those who believe islamophobia, is an acceptable critique of a minority religion in the U.K. ‘Muslim men are violent’ ‘Islam oppresses women’.

He uses a see-saw approach to pull together views that are often held by the far-right as well as those who practice Muslimgatekeeping’ as Khan refers to it as, which was a compelling and enlightening tactic. When discussing the faith schools and interactions with the LGBTQI+ community he gives fair space to both schools of thought. He deftly illuminates the history of Trans, non-binary and intersex people within the context of his religion's understanding, which was also much appreciated.

He details explicitly the issues the UK has with the need for minority populations to ‘assimilate', and structurally the roadblocks in place to prevent Muslim communities from thriving. Throughout he referenced government hypocrisy and calls out the PREVENT Anti-terror system, that If you work in social / education services you would have been hounded about many times before, even though there is enough discourse to write an entire book on the damage PREVENT caused, Khan decisively covers its main sinkholes and smartly suggested how a future without it could work.

‘What is the west without an enemy?’ He states, and so much truth he tells. Much of the socio-political background he discusses, as the precursor to the war on terror’, is essential to understanding the current state of discourse and a culture of fear our government has purposefully manipulated.

I am tagging some own voices reviews from some wonderful members here, as there are comments on the specific religious content in the book that I feel uneducated to comment on. As always with non-fiction and books outside your lived experience, don’t expect this to teach you everything, seek out other stories, narratives and voices, so we continue to remember individuals over monoliths.

I read this book weeks ago and have been putting off this review because I'm still SO conflicted... but today is release day so... here we go? Just let it be known that my thoughts are very much still in flux!

This book debunks five common misconceptions used against Islam, and it does so by making two major points, one of which I loved, and the other I really struggled with.

On the one hand, the parts where Khan broke down structural Islamophobia in Western society was fantastic. He's so explicit about naming the the double standards and hypocrisy that make it all but impossible for Muslims to successfully navigate British/Western society, as well as the ways in which the West paved the way for terrorism, and how harmful the subsequent anti-terror legislation, such as Prevent (which I've only recently realised that a lot of white Brits don't even know about!), has been. I learned so much about the historical origins of the five stereotypes too - I'd had no idea of the ways they've been weaponised by European nations over the centuries to prop up racism and colonialism!

On the other hand, he also talked about the ways in which the Muslim community sometimes plays into those harmful stereotypes, in a way that came across a little... victim blame-y, at times? (Not that the Muslim community doesn’t have its issues, just that his phrasing felt a bit accusatory in a way I didn't love.) And more than that, I felt like his ultimate point on that front was that Muslims can cherry pick the Islamic teachings they like and interpret them however they choose, in order to fit modern standards. Of course, you should always think critically and not accept anything 'just because', but equally there are parts of Islam that you can't actively make judgements on without the full context of deep research - you can't just decide a verse doesn't mean what qualified scholars say it does, just because it doesn't suit your lifestyle or you want to make it seem more acceptable to Western audiences.

I struggled particularly with his wholesale rejection of all hadith (narrations of the Prophet Muhammad, which are separate from the Quran). There is debate about hadith, and a scale of how reliable different narrations are considered to be, but blanket discrediting them all rocks the entire foundations of Islam in a way he didn't really seem to have considered. Islamic scholars have carried out centuries of research, and compiled books upon books of evidence to determine which hadith are authentic, and making a judgement on the issue requires extensive study, which I don't think Khan has done. (I could be wrong on that! But based on the information I could find about him, I didn't see any mention of him having studied Islamic sciences in detail).

Having said that, the fact that I disagree with Khan's own philosophy doesn't necessarily make this objectively a bad book, or negate the value that it does have. I don't actively not recommend it, but I do hope that anyone reading it will focus on the more secular, political/sociological aspects, and take the doctrinal pronouncements under advisement/in conjunction with other sources of information.

Taking common misconceptions about Muslims and Islam one by one, Khan provides a much-needed balance to the increasingly negative portrayal of Muslims in the British press. Khan is of course only one voice and he is fighting against a tide of negativity which will take time and a concerted effort to turn back but this important book is a powerful step in the right direction.

As Khan addressed each myth about Islam, I was embarrassed to find that I believed some of them as well. For example he talks about the perception that Islam oppresses or silences women - something which I thought was true myself. In reality Muslims are in many ways more progressive than the Christian church which still has a woefully small amount of women in leadership positions. Contrast that with Islam which has contributions from women to the hadiths and women as imams. Khan recognises there is still work to do in this area but he debunks the myth that Islam insists women cover themselves up and keep quiet - that is simply not true and a deeper interrogation of the Islamic religious texts and the surrounding culture would reveal this. It's unfortunate that many of us are too lazy to do that extra research, relying instead on an over-simplified narrative perpetuated by the media whose main objective is more often selling papers and getting clicks than on presenting a fair and balanced argument.

A thread of fairness and balance runs throughout Khan's informative book. For every myth he debunks, he provides both sides. While his arguments undoubtedly lean towards countering the accepted narrative, he does not do so unthinkingly or without accepting there is work to do. The Asian grooming gangs for example, recently highlighted in the UK press, show there is a problem that needs to be addressed. However, rather than the simplistic take that it was a bunch of Asian men from an outdated culture bringing their disregard for women to British shores, Khan' presents a more nuanced version one that shows failings throughout a system that left vulnerable girls in a position to be groomed in the first place. He argues that it is these failings which should have been the focus rather than the race of the perpetrators. Similarly with recent terrorist attacks made in the name of jihad (holy war), we must accept that the perpetrators are often born and raised in Britain - could the marginalisation and vilification they face in a country they should feel able to call home have had any part to play in leaving them open to radicalisation?

For some, The Muslim Problem will be an uncomfortable read. After all, it is so much easier to blame a foreign "other" for our failings as a society than to take an honest look at the part we all have to play. It is so much easier to accept over-simplified binary portrayals of Islam in the media than to do our own work to understand the context and deeper layers of meaning behind inflammatory headlines. The truth is there is no "Muslim problem", there is only fear, division and misunderstanding and we will all have to take accountability for our actions and behaviour if things are ever to improve.

As a Muslim I am always a little wary about reading books about Islam; there are nearly two billion of us from so many diverse cultural backgrounds, and naturally all of those who write about this religion do so from their own interpretation, opinion, and bias. Often the words appear on the page as though they are fact, and even when this is not the case it is easily read as if it is fact. I have to say, though, that I enjoyed reading this book. I really enjoyed the introduction to this book; the perspective of the author was refreshing, and I agree that myth-busting and correcting common misconceptions is just as important for Muslims as it is for outsiders - it is going to be impossible to convince Islamophobes that these myths are not true if so many Muslim people mistakenly continue to perpetuate them at the same time.

The book attempts to correct common misconceptions, divided into 5 broad categories, which the author uses a multi-pronged approach to dismantle. The book reads well, and the author comes across as well educated and articulate. It is also clear that a degree of research has gone into this book. What I occasionally find in debates between Muslim’s and critics is that we can get emotional and offended (with every right to), and this can lead to weak arguments being presented in rebuttal. Tawseef’s responses, in contrast, are calm and well thought out, and he proposes arguments and uses examples that I have considered but have rarely heard in mainstream debates. The historical accounts and analyses of the social factors and political objectives behind Islamophobia in the western world are all generally strong. More often than not I found him selecting clear, strong and well defined arguments, and appropriate examples in support. The breadth of his analysis and evaluation will surely provide a great foundation for those who are new to this debate.

The book, however, is not without flaws (though these are relatively specific). Toward the end of the first chapter he says that “there is no tension between our duties to the western nations that we are living in and our duties to Islam. Living here doesn't involve a necessary compromise with our Islamic principles”, and yet the impression I got was that he was suggesting Muslim’s shouldn’t mind getting involved in the festivities if their fear is that it diminishes their religious faith. In reality, many Muslim’s do not celebrate Christmas because it is a Christian religious festival, in the same way I’m sure most Christians do not celebrate Eid. With the above quote in mind, I believe a better message would have been that Muslim’s are not required to celebrate Christmas in order to be assimilated. After all, he does later explain that assimilation isn’t just doing what the indigenous people do, but i didn’t find he made that point here. This may seem like an insignificant point, but it is an example of the gymnastics required of Muslims to simply fit in in the west which I am all too familiar with.

My main critique, and one I have seen levelled by others (albeit in a different manner to mine) is his critical use of scripture at times, and specifically his attempts to discredit some Hadith. There are several occasions where he provides context behind verses from the Quran that are commonly misused to portray Islam as inherently violent or misogynistic, and for the most part he does this very well, but there are a few instances where I noticed he uses inflammatory language to discredit Hadith, by concluding that they are “weak”. Hadith are the words, actions, traditions, and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, and have been collated using a very strict procedure with well recorded evidence to support, in order to ensure that any “weak” or unsubstantiated Hadith is not published (one of which evidence is not strong, where quotes or anecdotes cannot be corroborated, or where the source is distant from the Prophet, for example). I think I understand the two points he was making: firstly that the people who collated these were human, and we can’t be sure they were not influenced by external forces and that their intentions were [even unintentionally] unbiased, and secondly that those Muslims who use the Hadith to pass orders on people must be completely knowledgable about the context of the text, and the insinuation therefore that people often aren’t (this sentiment I do agree with it).

Even if you ignore the lengthy processes behind creating the Hadith and evidence that had to be provided to support the selections, the issue is that huge debates already exist, or have taken place, on almost every aspect of the Hadith, spanning hundreds of years and generating more critical academic debates that you can count. The topics debated can range from the contributors, to the selection process, down to the meanings and uses of individual words and even letters. Some of these debates have been concluded and agreed upon with substantial academic evidence in support, while there absolutely is room for interpretation in others. What Tawseef can’t do in his book, then, is conclude definitively that a Hadith is “weak”. I appreciate that there is a limitation of what can be discussed in an already short book where only a small section is dedicated to this topic, but if it isn’t possible to conduct a comprehensive discussion as he has done successfully with other topics I would have recommended not including it (realistically I don’t believe it needed to be included to strengthen his points any further, and risks doing more harm than good). This comes back to a point I made in the introduction; some people who are learning what Hadith are for the very first time may take these two pages as fact and as being comprehensive, thus leaving with the belief that Hadith in general are all conclusively weak and therefore of no utility.

To those of you who have made it this far, I would still recommend you read this book, and then supplement what you have read by speaking to your Muslim friends (or me if you want!). As the author explains, we are not defined solely by our Muslimness and we all have agency, we are all different with different opinions on Islam and that point is vital. As he does advocate in the book, you should do your research and supplement this with a variety of texts, and should never take what someone says as fact (not least myself).