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Rethinking Ourselves by Anwar Ibrahim

Rethinking Ourselves by Anwar Ibrahim

Date
02 October 2025
Themes

Rethinking Ourselves: Justice, Reform and Ignorance in Postnormal Times.

A groundbreaking exploration of justice, democracy and Islamophobia, inviting us to reconsider our assumptions and build a more equitable future.

Change has run amok! Technology advances by the minute, and much of what we think we know about the world fades in front of our eyes. How we are, how we know, how we live our daily lives—all shifting quicker than we can cope with.

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s tenth Prime Minister, asks how we might rethink ourselves for these confusing, uncertain and volatile times, and shape fairer, more sustainable futures. Anwar’s passion is rooted in experience: he spent, in total, over a decade behind bars after three separate miscarriages of justice, from his days as a student activist to his time as Leader of the Opposition.

Alongside reflections on his time in prison are critical investigations into truth, justice, post-colonialism, Islamophobia, democracy and global order. Anwar assembles ideas from East and West, North and South, to explore how we can create a new inclusive synthesis for a good society and world. Vividly expressed, expertly dissected, this is a timely book for our turbulent age.

Praise for Rethinking Ourselves

‘A compelling account by a courageous leader who has triumphed over prosecution, harsh prison life and attempts to ban him from public office. This book sets out the values that shape his life and work and how he proposes to lead Malaysia into the future.’

— GORDON BROWN

‘The brilliant insights of Anwar Ibrahim radiate here in eloquent prose, now more accessible and necessary than ever. For truth and justice to prevail, we must look to the core human values etched in this enthralling, impassioned manifesto from the foremost Muslim statesman of our time.’

— PROFESSOR BRUCE B. LAWRENCE

‘This book is evidence that Anwar Ibrahim, in the darkest days of his life, still kept his heart toward light. Ibrahim offers far-sighted designs for the global order, syncretising Eastern and Western wisdom to chart a course forward through tempestuous epochs.’

— LIJIN YAN, PRESIDENT, SILK ROAD INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION

About the author

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s tenth Prime Minister, asks how we might rethink ourselves for these confusing, uncertain and volatile times, and shape fairer, more sustainable futures. Anwar’s passion is rooted in experience: he spent, in total, over a decade behind bars after three separate miscarriages of justice, from his days as a student activist to his time as Leader of the Opposition.

Alongside reflections on his time in prison are critical investigations into truth, justice, post-colonialism, Islamophobia, democracy and global order. Anwar assembles ideas from East and West, North and South, to explore how we can create a new inclusive synthesis for a good society and world. Vividly expressed, expertly dissected, this is a timely book for our turbulent age.

Hardback £19.99. Also available as an eBook.

Rethinking Ourselves is published by HURST, who are also publish the Muslim Institute’s house journal Critical Muslim. 

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