I WAS TOLD TO COME ALONE: A Muslim Reporter Tells Her Story, Behind the Lines of Jihad

As an independent, unmarried Muslim woman who grew up in Germany and is now an award-winning reporter for the Washington Post, Souad Mekhennet’s cultural background has given her the ability to cross lines to places that reporters rarely enter.  Mekhennet will tell the riveting story of her journey behind the lines of jihad at a talk at the Central Queens Y in Forest Hills on Monday, November 13, at 1:30 p.m.  Mekhennet’s complex cultural identity has made it possible for her to meet with some of the world’s most dangerous terrorist operatives, including members of ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban.  Souad Mekhennet is a correspondent for The Washington Post’s national security desk, and she has reported on terrorism for The New York Times and NPR.  The Central Queens Y is located at 67-09 108 Street, in Forest Hills.  All events are always open to the public.  An $8 voluntary donation is requested.  For more information, contact Cultural Arts at (718) 268-5011, ext. 151, or at pkurtz@cqy.org or online at www.cqy.org. In her new book, Mekhennet tells of her quest through the neighborhoods of European cities where terror has come to the heart of Western civilization and of tense meetings in Iraq and Syria with terrorist leaders (which led to a surprising number of marriage proposals).   Mekhennet seeks to shed light on the radicalization of young Muslims, starting in the German neighborhoods from which the 9/11 plotters emerged, to the Iraqi neighborhoods where Sunnis and Shia turned against one another, and culminating on the Turkish-Syrian border region where ISIS has a daily presence.  Mekhennet documents chilling run-ins with various intelligence services. She then returns to Europe, first going to London, where she uncovered the identity of the ISIS executioner “Jihadi John” before the FBI, MI-5, and Scotland Yard did so.  Along the way Mekhennet tells of heart-pounding border crossings, desperate phone calls from wrongfully accused men and from families whose children have fled to ISIS, and tense meetings with leaders of terrorist organizations.  As an investigative reporter, Mekhennet seeks answers to questions about the roots of militant extremism. This program is one event in the Fall Author Series of the Central Queens Y.  More information is available online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org.  Photo credit, Ben Kilb.