---
product_id: 262255124
title: "A Ticket to Syria Paperback – September 11, 2020"
brand: "shirish thorat"
price: "€ 15.06"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 7
url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/262255124-a-ticket-to-syria-paperback-september-11-2020
store_origin: HR
region: Croatia
---

# A Ticket to Syria Paperback – September 11, 2020

**Brand:** shirish thorat
**Price:** € 15.06
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** A Ticket to Syria Paperback – September 11, 2020 by shirish thorat
- **How much does it cost?** € 15.06 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/262255124-a-ticket-to-syria-paperback-september-11-2020)

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Understanding where ISIS arose from
  

*by S***A on Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2018*

A Ticket to SyriaBy Shirish ThoratA review by Suraya DewingI was keen to read A Ticket to Syria because, as a Westerner, I had no absolutely no idea why ISIS appeared on the world scene. It seemed to hit the headlines out of nowhere and I wanted to understand how the movement gathered so much influence in what appeared to me, such a short time. I was also keen to understand the whole concept of Jihad. What would drive someone to don a jacket lined with explosives and blow up a target and themselves?The Contact, a central character in the story, is an excellent narrator who gives the political and social background to the rise of ISIS. The reason behind the ferocity of its adherents became clearer as I read the Contact’s account.Sameer is a qualified doctor leading a perfect life with his family in the Maldives. He is the eldest of six. Munsiu, his youngest brother recently married Zahi, a nineteen year old. In his opinion they are deeply in love. However, a darker side to Munsiu is revealed when Sameer learns that all his family has gone to Syria to join ISIS including Munsiu and Zahi.Zahi believed she was going on holiday to Singapore. Instead she finds herself in Syria and effectively an unwilling ISIS prisoner. She is alone. Everyone else is in Syria by choice. She has one life line – a second mobile phone she failed to surrender when ISIS confiscated cell phones and insisted they surrender their passwords to social media. The story takes shape around this situation.There are moments when the danger of the situation is effectively accentuated. One of those is the description of the ultra slim phone Zahi surreptitiously uses to send messages to her brother. This pink, girlie, child-like accessory contrasts strongly with the stark, primitive and dangerous environment Zahi now finds herself in.The novel uses a real event as its inspiration and this gives it context and realism. The Maldives is a tourist mecca promising relaxing sun-soaked holidays. But there is another side to all this beauty and author Shirish Thorat lifts the cover on that not so idyllic life.He writes in a way that is accessible without resorting to cliché or generalization. He allows the story to evolve without allowing his own opinions to overshadow the story.Thorat tells the story well and the writing has a journalistic quality which makes understanding the reason ISIS rose out of the dust a lot easier.

### ⭐⭐ 2.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    A good story that's fatally flawed
  

*by W***N on Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2019*

Thorat is a good writer. His style is engaging. Unfortunately, this work suffers from three egregious weaknesses: poor editing, the author’s lack of knowledge about the Maldives, and the failure to cite sources.  Here are some examples of poor editing. The story starts on the fictitious island of Kaalinidhoo which the section heading puts it in “Nonoo Atoll” (Location 164), but the text puts it in “Gaanu Atoll” (Location 168). Even with fictitious names, there should be consistency. Try to parse this sentence: “…he had managed to put recharge (sic) her SIM card through a friend…” (Location 1146). There is an organization called “One World Group”, but in a letter from that organization we find out that its name is “One World Firstly” as in the sentence, “I am operations director of One World Firstly (sic)...” (Location 1103). Some suicide bombers made a video for a family member in which they “extorted (sic) him to continue the jihad” (Location 2529). Of course, readers can figure out what these phrases should have come out as, but really they shouldn’t have to do that. This book clearly wasn’t ready to be released.Regarding the second flaw, Thorat’s lack of knowledge about the Maldives is obvious to anyone familiar with that country. He wrongly identifies the national language as “Dwivehi”. Its real name is “Dhivehi”. (This isn’t just a typo. “Dwivehi” shows up in several places.) Thorat relates a proverbial saying that the Maldivian protagonist calls to mind, “These persons are like the mongoose one has in the backyard to take care of the snakes” (Location 287). The problem is that the Maldives doesn’t have mongooses, and only has an occasional sea snake. In describing the virtues of the heroine of the story Thorat said that she “had not demurred when a husband had been chosen for her” (Location 2270). The Maldives is not India. Women do not have husbands chosen for them. They have what Indians refer to as “love marriage”. More importantly, however, Thorat doesn’t seem to understand what motivates some Maldivian young people to become jihadi fighters. He doesn’t seem to appreciate that there were some who genuinely felt that it was their moral and religious duty to go to Syria and help defend their Muslim brothers and sisters from being killed by the Assad government. For Muslims who take the Quran and the Hadiths seriously, such arguments are compelling, and the Maldivian government has had difficulty challenging them on religious grounds. That is disturbing, and doesn’t bode well for possible future Maldivian involvement in other Islamic-related conflicts in the world.Finally, I was disappointed to see Thorat use the research of others without giving them due credit. In one section of the book, an FBI agent is given a brief on the Maldives. This gives Thorat the opportunity to describe Maldives history and relevant current events. It’s an engaging way to do that, and is a very good summary. He just fails to cite his sources. Thorat’s dependence on Wikipedia is obvious. For example, here’s a paragraph from Wikipedia’s article on the History of Maldives:“Following the Islamic concept that before Islam there was the time of Jahiliya  (ignorance), in the history books used by Maldivians the history the introduction of Islam at the end of the 12th century is considered the cornerstone of the country's history.”Compare this with what Thorat wrote:“Adhering to a typically Islamic concept, that before Islam there was a period of jahiliyya, or ignorance. The history books used by the Maldivian educational system tout the introduction of Islam at the end of the 12th century to be considered as the cornerstone of the country’s history.” (Location 1443)This section of Ticket to Syria uses other uncited sources as well. For more recent political developments in Maldives, Thorat draws heavily upon Dr. M. Samatha’s article “Political Developments in the Maldives” published in the 26 March 2015 Issue Brief of the Indian Council of World Affairs. Thorat summarizes much of what Dr. Samatha wrote, and also uses sentences extracted from the article which are only slightly altered.  Here is what  Dr. Samatha wrote:“Mounting  pressure  for  democratic  reforms  and  multi-party  elections  since  2004  led  President  Gayoom  to  embark  on  democratic  reforms,  which helped  in  recognising  political  parties  and  adopting  a  new  constitution  with  guarantee  for judicial  and  police  reforms,  freedom  of  expression  and  assembly  and  establishment  of  the Human Rights Commission.” (Page 2 of "Political Developments in the Maldives")Compare this with Thorat’s re-working of the same:“Come 2004, there was mounting pressure for reforms and multiparty elections led President Gayoom to embark on democratic reforms which assisted in recognizing political parties and adopting a new constitution that guaranteed judicial and police reforms, freedom of expression, assembly and establishment of the human rights commission.” (Location 1469)Thorat does this without giving any credit where credit is due. There is no citation of sources. Sad to say, but this looks very much like plagiarism to me, and it is inexcusable.Had Thorat properly cited his sources, cleaned up the obvious errors, and had based his story on a country he knows something about, this could have been a good book. I enjoyed the story as a story, and Thorat is talented. Unfortunately, the shortcomings were certainly both a distraction and detraction from what otherwise would have been a good read.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Started reading it after watching Freelancer on hotstar
  

*by A***R on Reviewed in India on October 1, 2023*

Interesting read, the rescue part is a thriller, loved " the contact's personality". Will there be a part 2 of the story?

## Frequently Bought Together

- A Ticket to Syria : A story about the ISIS in Maldives
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*Product available on Desertcart Croatia*
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*Last updated: 2026-02-25*