The Embattled Innocence: Reflections of a Muslim Relief Worker

In 1992, by the grace of Allah (swt), I bid farewell to Engineering to volunteer in Bosnia. In my travels to war-torn areas since then, I have seen the best and the worst that life has to offer. Where I witnessed war, destruction, death, suffering, captivity, hate and rage, I also saw compassion, love, self-sacrifice, altruism and dedication to Allah (swt). While I came across devils incarnate, I also met the finest people that the Muslim Ummah has produced in these times. This small book is a collection of those experiences. I used to meet Muslim students while speaking at Universities, their faces radiating the passion for Islam. More than that, I saw in them a promise for the future. I decided to keep in touch by sending them e-mails about my experiences. The first story ‘The City, The Girl and The Little Rag Doll’ drew responses from people I had never met. I was amazed. Writing is not my forte but as long as people were willing to listen, I had stories to tell. Thus started a series of stories and essays through which I recruited people and raised funds for our projects overseas. Though written at different times, I have grouped them under headings like the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The approximate date of writing appears under each title. Although these are true stories, the statements quoted–because of being constructed out of memory–are a close approximation of the actual conversations. I dedicate this book to Allah (swt) to Whom I owe everything. My tha