The Relentless Rebel duology Series

Friday Bridge is a glimpse behind the veil into Islam untainted by cultural influence from the lived experience of a woman who navigated life between East and West, White and Brown, hedonism and piety. Navigating the cultural landscape of Islam in Britain, the racial divides, Islamophobia, as well as the prejudices within the various Islamic communities themselves and their varying belief systems, Bates takes us on an insightful journey of a faith unfolding and what it means to be a successful, educated businesswoman, who chooses the most hated religion in the world. Running throughout the story is the hedonistic rave and drug culture of Britain in the 90s. From illegal raves to club nights, euphoric highs and immense lows as friends die, and fall by the wayside – especially when the terror attacks of 9/11 and the 7/7 bombings take place. Bates shares with us the goings on inside the mosques of Sheffield, answers the questions so many want to ask but are afraid of doing so in the ever increasing 'cancel culture' and hyper sensitivity of today's Western Cultures. Her powerful sharing of her husband's brain injury and trauma, and the impact that has on her as she is left to deal with renovating a home, running a business and navigating the prejudices and cultural conflicts between her small farming village family and her husband's Arabian city family, gifts us moving moments of love, and the powerful feminine resilience running through every fiber of her body. With her keen awareness and professional experience of working within the areas of cultural difference and cohesion, living life as a "terrorist" and "posh Paki", as well as facing a different kind of terrorism from those who support Britain First and the English Defence League, as well as the UKIP followers, Dawn shares the often heart-breaking reality of choosing a faith everyone loves to hate. From random police stops and checks, fighting for social justice, religious freedom, peaceful integration and doing her best to understand what it means to be British; this book brings together the hidden meaning of 'British values' over the last thirty years of modern Britain. It is the reality of a white English girl who fell in love with a 'bloody foreigner'. This is a book which is guaranteed to make readers stop and analyse everything they think they know about multicultural Britain, and reflect on their own interactions with neighbours, colleagues and strangers. With brilliantly funny anecdotes, tear jerking moments and a heart worn on her sleeve, Dawn Bates is the voice of humanity, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion that the world needs to hear more from.

The world watched as Egyptians rose up together for the first time in history to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak. It could've been a gripping tale straight out of a movie, with communication blackouts, violent and bloody protests, police and army brutality, curfews, and fighter jet flybys. But for those living in Egypt this was real life. Living through it all was British author Dawn Bates and her family. Walaahi is her epic account of living and working in Egypt during this unbelievable moment in history, kick-started by protests in Tunisia, which spread across the Arab world. With deep honesty and openness, Dawn shares what life is really like in Egypt with its broken education system, sexual harassment by civilians and police thugs alike, dirty streets and corruption. This is life through the eyes of a white British Muslim who not only speaks Arabic, but understands the intricacies of the politics, Islamic faith, the food, and cultural nuances the world has never seen before. Interwoven with the beauty of the country, the warmth and strong desire of the Egyptian people to better themselves and their country, Dawn takes us on an emotional ride through the paradoxes, wonderful aromas of delicious food, toothless grins and shining eyes, relaxing quiet moments of felucca rides along the Nile, and the chaos of the Khan el-lKhalili bazaar. Discover the questions she asked herself as she walked away from Islam. And how cross-cultural love, when transferred to a different setting, truly impacts the children of mixed ethnicity and background. Detailing the start of Mohamed Morsi's presidency in accurate detail, being followed by secret police, and appearing in the world's media in an attempt to get the facts across to those around the world, Dawn's bravery in the face of adversity shines through. Highlighting how a sexual predator followed her and her children through the metro system, only to have the harassment dismissed as 'nothing to worry about', to celebrating the entrepreneurs driving change in a country best known for the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, the Library of Alexandria and diving in The Red Sea and Sharm el-Sheik, this epic memoir packs into four years what many do not live through in a lifetime. As many began to switch off from the horrific events, Dawn and her family continued to live through the curfews, home invasions and stories manipulated for inflated viewing figures. Dawn writes with a refreshing and engaging voice as she describes this momentous time in history which saw the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi become president in the first democratic election in the country's history; before Human Rights Watch declared the Rabaa massacre the bloodiest massacre ever reported in one day. Bates shares her heartbreak of seeing the Egypt she loves and the will of the people of Egypt destroyed before her eyes, only to see them rise up together again to rebuild stronger than ever, much like their Arab cousins in Lebanon after the Israeli bombings. Navigating the vast cultural landscapes belly dancing amongst one another, watching Christians, Jews and Muslims live harmoniously together, what Dawn shares is enlightening. We learn of the inadequacies in Egyptian schools, racism and prejudice faced by her and her children, and are left in awe at her fierce love, courage and strength as she takes on hatred and turns it into powerful action. With a devastating blow at the end, this book is guaranteed to make readers stop and reflect on how they respond to events in their own lives and sets the record straight on untruths about Egypt many only know through resorts and all-inclusive holidays. With brilliantly funny anecdotes, tear-jerk moments and a heart worn on her sleeve, Dawn Bates is the voice of humanity, cultural diversity and inclusion the world needs to hear from.

In this compelling duology, Dawn Bates shares with the world a rare and unique insight to what it means to be a 'Posh Paki' and a 'traitor' to those who knew her, her ethnicity, nation and her faith, simply because she embraced the faith of Islam at the age of 15 – without having ever met a Muslim! Dawn shares how she discovered Islam and knew she wanted to become a Muslim, and the journey that followed. Becoming 'revert' rather than a convert to one of the most hated, if not the most hated religion in the West, especially when she comes from a small village in the heart of England where racism and fear of outsiders – including those from London! – presents Dawn with some difficult challenges in life, such as having her head filled with funny ideas and running off with a tall dark handsome stranger – the height is all relative apparently! Whilst this may have been attractive to Dawn as a child, to her parents it was their worst nightmare come true, especially when slips of the tongue with phrases such as 'you bloody dirty Arab!' comes out of her mother's mouth right in front of the Arab husband. Read how Dawn saw firsthand the subtleties of racism deeply entrenched in family, friends and colleagues alike – including those who state they are not being a racist because they 'have a black friend'. Discover what is it like to be regularly pulled over by police because your husband is believed to be your drug dealer or your pimp, just because he is an Arab driving a Mercedes Benz, and how he apparently brainwashed and threatened her into following Islam, made her wear the hijab… because all Muslim women are oppressed. Or are they? The British pride themselves on being tolerant but many still refuse to accept the rich cultural diversity within its green, luscious lands, choosing to simply tolerate them – without knowing the difference between acceptance and tolerance. Just how deep does racial hatred and Islamophobia still run within British society? Events such as 9/11 and the 7/7 London bombings took place more than a decade ago, and organisations such as Britain First, the English Defence League and political parties such as UKIP are still very much a part of the fabric of British life. And what was it like living as a white, English Muslim who understands the religion of Islaam deeper than many of the Pakistanis and Arabs she lived amongst in both England and Egypt? Was Dawn accepted as a Muslim by the wider Muslim community, including the Arab family she married into, or rejected and eyed with suspicion? Having decided before her engagement to her Arab husband that she would learn the language and live in his home country, discover how his brain tumour and her '24 hours to live' death sentence sparked the move to Cairo, just in time for the Arab Spring and Egyptian Uprising took hold across the Arab world. Navigating more than just the Nile and visiting the pyramids on a weekly basis, even in the most turbulent of times, including taking on the Education Minister, the International Schools system and writing her very first book – included in this duology, the resilience, determination and personal power Dawn shares is nothing short of remarkable. You will discover why Dawn was followed by the Secret Police across the capital of Egypt, what it was like making a TV documentary with one of Britain's leading TV channels, and why she chose to walk away from Islaam… even though apparently when you choose to walk away from Islam, you are automatically sentenced to death… Or is that just a story made up to keep Muslims living in fear, and a way to keep the non-Muslims comfortable with their Islamophobia? A gripping and compelling tale by a woman who never gives up, and is determined to succeed at any cost… even if it means going to jail for what she believes in. Are you this brave?