Sarfraz Manzoor – THEY

Powerful, hopeful, and inspiring–this is the story of Britain as never told before–through the lived experiences of three generations of Muslims and Sarfraz’s own personal insight.

Sarfraz Manzoor grew up in a working-class Pakistani Muslim family in Luton–where he was raised to believe that they were different, they had an alien culture and they would never accept him. They were white people. In today’s deeply divided Britain we are often told they are different, they have a different culture and values and they will never accept this country.

This time they are Muslims. Weaving together history, reportage and memoir, Sarfraz Manzoor journeys around Britain in search of the roots of this division–from the fear that Islam promotes violence, to the suspicion that Muslims wish to live segregated lives, to the belief that Islam is fundamentally misogynistic.

THEY is also Manzoor’s search for a more positive future. We hear stories from Islamic history of a faith more tolerant and progressive than commonly assumed, and stories of hope from across the country which show how we might bridge the chasm of mutual mistrust. THEY is at once fiercely urgent, resolutely hopeful and profoundly personal. It is the story of modern, Muslim Britain as it has never been told.

​Sarfraz Manzoor is a British journalist, documentary maker, broadcaster, and screenwriter of Pakistani origin. He is a regular contributor to The Guardian, presenter of documentaries on BBC Radio 4, and a cultural commentator who appears on programmes such as Newsnight Review and Saturday Review.

​Sarfraz will be interviewed by Simon MacDonald.