I Was Told to Come Alone

Souad Mekhennet

"I was told to come alone. I was not to carry any identification, and would have to leave my cell phone, audio recorder, watch, and purse at my hotel. . . ."For her whole life, Souad Mekhennet, a reporter for The Washington Post who was born and educated in Germany, has had to balance the two sides of her upbringing - Muslim and Western. She has also sought to provide a mediating voice between these cultures, which too often misunderstand each other.In this compelling and evocative memoir, we accompany Mekhennet as she journeys behind the lines of jihad, starting in the German neighborhoods where the 9/11 plotters were radicalized and the Iraqi neighborhoods where Sunnis and Shia turned against one another, and culminating on the Turkish/Syrian border region where ISIS is a daily presence. In her travels across the Middle East and North Africa, she documents her chilling run-ins with various intelligence services and shows why the Arab Spring never lived up to its promise. She then returns to Europe, first in London, where she uncovers the identity of the notorious ISIS executioner "Jihadi John," and then in France, Belgium, and her native Germany, where terror has come to the heart of Western civilization.Mekhennet's background has given her unique access to some of the world's most wanted men, who generally refuse to speak to Western journalists. She is not afraid to face personal danger to reach out to individuals in the inner circles of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS, and their affiliates; when she is told to come alone to an interview, she never knows what awaits at her destination.Souad Mekhennet is an ideal guide to introduce us to the human beings behind the ominous headlines, as she shares her transformative journey with us. Hers is a story you will not soon forget.

Prologue: Meeting ISISTurkey, 20141 Stranger in a Strange LandGermany and Morocco, 1978¿932 The Hamburg CellGermany, 1994¿20033 A Country with a Divided SoulIraq, 2003¿44 A Call from Khaled el-MasriGermany and Algeria, 2004¿65 Even If I Die Today or TomorrowLebanon, 20076 The Lost Boys of ZarqaJordan, 20077 The Value of a LifeAlgeria, 20088 Guns and RosesPakistan, 20099 MukhabaratEgypt, 201110 This Is Not an Arab SpringGermany and Tunisia, 201111 ThreatsBahrain, Iran, and Germany, 2011¿1312 Boys for the CaliphateGermany, 201313 Brides for the CaliphateGermany and France, 2014¿1514 The Search for an Islamist Beatle, or Finding Jihadi JohnBritain, 2014¿1515 Terror Comes HomeAustria, France, and Belgium, 2015¿16Epilogue: The Deepest CutGermany and Morocco, 2016