Big Ben, at the House of Commons in Westminster, London. Victoria Jones/ Press Association. All rights reserved.
A few days ago, I packed my bags and left. After two years of living and working in London, I took the decision to leave the UK and take up an academic appointment at Leiden University in The Hague. Not only am I now able to teach in the area of sociology of terrorism that fascinates me but I can also continue my research and writing in what is a specialist field of study that combines different social science interests, including the important area of social policy. However, the timings of my movements could not have been more prescient. I arrived in London ten days after the Brexit vote. I had followed this issue closely from Istanbul, where I was living and working, and believed there would be no way that a discerning British population would ever accept this useless Tory ruse. To say that I was flabbergasted when the result emerged would be an understatement of immense proportions.
Before returning to London, I was living in Istanbul for nearly six years. I moved to Turkey at a time when it was ‘the model’; balancing the forces of Islam, democracy and capitalism; becoming a beacon to all. However, this changed in recent years as the country headed towards authoritarianism, nationalism and populism – diseases affecting many Muslim majority countries led by strongmen seen in mythical terms.
