At a time in history when fear of "the other" has become commonplace, The Broken Silence is a book that shows a glimpse in the timeline of how Islam has been marginalized in society. It examines the impacts of economic sanctions on vulnerable populations and opens with an essay by the author's daughter that paints a bleak picture of the human costs of years of international sanctions against Iraq, including the deaths of over half a million children, as reported by the United Nations. Her argument that desperate young people are driven to commit heinous acts of terror not out of religious fervour but as misguided reactions to injustices, is to this day, little recognized by politicians or the media. This book explores the human cost of sanctions and the author's efforts over many years to promote awareness and activism to have those sanctions lifted. --Adapted from publisher's description.