The Washington Post journalist who has repeatedly risked her life to report on Al-Qaeda and ISIS is here to share her latest book – ‘I Was Told to Come Alone’

Rewayat, a subsidiary of Kalimat Group – one of the region’s leading publishing houses – has proudly welcomed Souad Mekhennet to the UAE, where she hosted an exclusive, interactive press conference and book signing at Maraya Art Centre. Mekhennet is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir “I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad”, which has been published in Arabic for the first time by Rewayat.

“I Was Told to Come Alone” charts Mekhennet’s journey behind the lines of Jihad, starting in the German neighbourhoods where 9/11 plotters were radicalised and culminating on the Turkish/Syrian border region where ISIS was a daily presence. I Was Told to Come Alone also documents Mekhennet’s chilling run-ins with various intelligence services and some of the world’s most wanted men; when she is told to come alone to an interview, she never knows what awaits her.

For her uncompromising commitment to the pursuit of the truth and her dedication to promoting cross-cultural understanding, the Chicago Journalists Association named Mekhennet the 2017 recipient of the Daniel Pearl Award, which was established to commemorate Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped by terrorists and lost his life in Pakistan in early 2002.

During her career, Mekhennet has extensively covered conflicts and terrorist attacks in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for major publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post, where she was recently appointed as a staff writer. I Was Told to Come Alone is a testament to Mekhennet’s growing global reputation as an acclaimed author, and is being made available to Arabic reading audiences for the first time thanks to Rewayat.