Friendship in the Square

Friendship in The Square: Muslim Activism in Historic London 1880s to the 1940s, by  M.A. Sherif. Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust, 2026, 500pp. ISBN: 978-9672795353.

Reviewed by: Humayan Ansari, Royal Holloway, University of London                               

The title of the book, Friendships in the Square, draws one to a world that feels intimate and expansive at once. It gestures towards a particular geography—Trafalgar Square, Russell Square, the squares of Bloomsbury and beyond—but also towards a set of relationships, encounters, and solidarities that unfolded within and around those spaces. The title invites one to imagine not only where these friendships took place, but also the things they made them possible: new forms of belonging, new political imaginaries, and new ways of being Muslim in this country long before such questions became part of contemporary vocabulary.

There is clarity and warmth to the writing that makes the book accessible without ever compromising its intellectual depth. This is a rare achievement: a work that is meticulously researched yet deeply humane; grounded in archival rigour yet alive with narrative energy. The style is not merely decorative, however; it is integral to the book’s purpose. It allows the historical figures mentioned in the book—often marginalised, misrepresented, and entirely forgotten—to step forward with dignity, complexity, and a clear voice.