Omar Saif Ghobash serves as the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to Russia. He is also the author of a slim and provocative new book, Letters to a Young Muslim. In it, Ambassador Ghobash takes up through a series of letters addressed to one of his sons some of the most crucial challenges facing the Muslim, and especially the Arab Muslim, world. We spoke with him about Islam’s contemporary self-image, the roots of radicalization, and how lay Muslims can reclaim authority from clerics.

Octavian Report: Can you talk about your background and what inspired you to write Letters to a Young Muslim?
Ambassador Omar Saif Ghobash: The important thing here is that I don’t claim any special theological expertise, and that was one …
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Omar Saif Ghobash is the author of Letters to a Young Muslim and the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Russia.