In the wake of the Arab uprisings, al-Nahda voted to transform itself into a political party that would for the first time withdraw from a preaching project built around religious, social, and cultural activism. This turn to the political was not a Tunisian exception but reflects an urgent debate within Islamist movements as they struggle to adjust to a rapidly changing political environment. This book re-orientates how we think about Islamist movements. Drawing on extensive fieldwork with grassroots activists of Tunisia's al-Nahda, Rory McCarthy focuses on the lived experience of activism to offer a challenging new perspective on one of the Middle East's most successful Islamist projects. Original evidence explains how al-Nahda survived two decades of brutal repression in prison and in social exclusion, and reveals what price the movement paid for a new strategy of pragmatism and reform during the Tunisian transition away from authoritarianism.

'I just want equality, equality for all of us. At the moment, the scales are unfairly balanced and I just want things to be fair for my children, my grandchildren and future generations.'

On 13 June 2020, Patrick Hutchinson, a black man, was photographed carrying a white injured man to safety during a confrontation in London between Black Lives Matter demonstrators and counter-protestors. The image went viral and quickly travelled around the world with Patrick being widely praised for his actions. In the press interviews that followed Patrick revealed a simple philosophy for his own personal beliefs on racism and why he had responded in the way he had. 'It's not black versus white, it's everyone versus the racists,' he said. A message he wanted his own children and grandchildren to take forward and share.

In this poignant letter to his children, Patrick writes from the heart and shares the realities of life as a black man in Britain today, his own experiences with discrimination and the advice he wants to give the next generation to help break down barriers and unite everyone against racism.