Asif Rana shares his life story as a second-generation Muslim living in the UK.

In 'This Briefcase Is Not Going to Explode' Asif charts his journey from the streets of Burnley, dodging thuggery and mosque thrashings, to navigating academia and the corporate world.

Asif said :"Post 9/11 and later 7/7,  it describes abrupt societal change, misapprehensions, and bizarre accusations: dubious money transfers, bulky looking vests, Columbo-type murder plots in the Peak District and more questions at the airport than in a series of Mastermind.”

The synopsis to the book reads: "‘WHAT are you doing, man?! STOP! STOP! Are you trying to blow up this train?!’

"The fuzzy grey shapeless form slowly came into focus.

"I stared at the man, and noticed clumps of perspiration strewn across his puffy, pink brow. Still in a hazy stupor, I could parse the man’s words, but struggled to process them in any meaningful way.

"Perhaps he covets my new watch? Or maybe my laptop? Why is he talking to me, anyway? Let’s start there. Doesn’t he know the rule about strangers talking on a train? A few moments later… Hang on… Did he just use the phrase ‘blow up this train’?!

"Yes, we live in interesting times. More interesting if you happen to be big, brown, and bearded. And that’s just on the 18:52 to Swansea. From Village 247, his ancestral homeland in the heart of Pakistan, to the hostile and often violent town of Burnley in the 70s and 80s. Asif thought his life would be downright boring when he left to study maths at university.

"Then 9/11 happened."

Asif Rana is an IT Consultant by trade and has worked with some of the largest and most global organisations.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Pure Mathematics and master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence from Imperial College, London (neither were particularly useful while completing this book). He lives in the South of England with his wife and four, trying children.

Published by Aliksir Press, This Briefcase Is Not Going to Explode is available in paperback (£7.90) and Kindle format here