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Delusions of Paradise

Escaping the Life of a Taliban Fighter

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Delusions of Paradise

By: Maiwand Banayee
Narrated by: Beruce Khan
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About this listen

When Maiwand Banayee was 16, he wanted to become a suicide bomber for the Taliban.

In this inspiring tale of survival and self-discovery, the listener will follow Maiwand's journey down a dark path and his ultimate redemption. Growing up in Kabul amid the Afghan wars, he witnessed atrocities that no child should ever see—rotting corpses, starving families, a neighbourhood torn apart. He escaped to a refugee camp in Pakistan, where religious militants began the gradual grooming of Maiwand and other Afghan boys. These confused and traumatised children were indoctrinated, radicalised and prepared to die in the name of a religious war. But Maiwand escaped this life. Fleeing Afghanistan, he had a life-altering crisis of faith, confidence and meaning, finding new purpose and rebuilding himself.

Maiwand taught himself how to read and write in English, and here tells his astonishing story in crystalline prose. Delusions of Paradise offers a powerful warning about the dangers of radical religion, and is a stunning celebration of self-determination and redemption from an important new voice.

©2025 Maiwand Banayee (P)2025 W.F. Howes Ltd

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