Salam To Queen And Country

Zubeida Malik speaks to serving British Muslims about what it is like to be in the Army today.

In the last two campaigns, Muslims in the British army have faced criticism from some members of their own communities, who were opposed to what they saw as taking up arms against fellow Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. When Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi became the first, and now only, British Muslim soldier to be killed in Afghanistan in 2006, there was an outpouring of sympathy from his local community, but there was criticism from some quarters too. His death highlighted the role of Britain's Muslim soldiers and soon afterwards a plot to kidnap and behead a Muslim soldier was discovered in Birmingham.

Zubeida Malik meets serving British Muslims to hear their stories about joining up and their tours of duty. She asks what it was like to be in the army after 9/11 and during the so called War on Terror. And with under 600 Muslim personnel serving in the British Army, Zubeida asks the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Nick Carter, what is being done to overcome the problems with recruiting young British Muslims into the army today.

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald

A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.

Zubeida Malik speaks to Muslim soldiers in the British army.