Customer Reviews

The Islamist: Why I Became an Islamic Fundamentalist, What I Saw Inside, and Why I Left

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We've all seen their pictures. Mostly blank and white. Usually they're taken from surveillance cameras or driver's licenses. They seem ordinary enough. Young to early middle age men. A few are smiling, but most are expressionless. How many of us have sat and stared at those photos and wondered what goes through the mind of mass murderer? What were they thinking when they set the timer of payload of death and then pulled the pin while screaming "Allah Akbar"? Did they look into the eyes of the unsuspecting victims? Did they see mothers with their children off to the grocery or school? Did they see ordinary people going about their lives in peace? Did they give any consideration to their families waiting for them at home before murdering them?

How do they justify the carnage they about to bring on innocent lives? Did God promise them some sort of "get-out-of-Hell-free" card in exchange for murdering a pregnant woman or maiming some school child? How does one turn a religion which historically has been one of the most peaceful and tolerate of religions into a one based on hatred and death? These are but a few of the questions I've often pondered, be about the SS Death Squads, Pol Pot, Charles Manson, or more recently, the terror attacks by Muslim extremists. Author Ed Husain was in a unique position to answer some of those questions, and more. He grew up in London's East Side; the product of a strong, loving, Westernized Muslim family (surprisingly, not uncommon characteristics of many other mass murders).

Through short, sometimes quite innocent steps, he slowly found himself drawn into a web of radicalism which promoted a self-anointed "holier-than-thou" sense of religious superiority, even (and perhaps especially) fellow Muslims, including his family and friends. From there, the steps down the hole of free and rational thought to hatred and murder become shorter and ever more slippery with the blood of the innocent. Husain, however, was fortunate. He found his way back from the insanity of the radicalism before it was too late.

As we are forced to come to grips with the new reality of a post 9/11 world, stories like the one told by Mr. Husain in his book, "The Islamist" should become required reading of anyone trying to come to terms with the mindset of those who seek to murder in the name of God. The book is both well written, and at the same time, chilling in portrayal of an ordinary young man drawn little by little into this dark world.

I read the original edition of this book. Here is what I wrote about it:

Ed Husain has written a highly informative, personal account of his experiences as a young man who became radical, and who then saw the real consequences of violent radicalism, and changed his mind. Mr. Husain is very honest and deserves a lot of credit for how well he tells his story. He clearly has thought and felt deeply about all these issues. He shares his personal journey and gives the reader a real glimpse into the process by which people are drawn to violent radical theories about how to change and improve society. He shares many insights: for example, the ways in which radical Islam copies the methods of other radical theories, such as socialism, communism and Marxism.

His description of his parents, and of his father's spiritual teacher, whom he calls "Grandfather," and other wonderful people of Islamic faith, such as his wife, Faye, and his Sufi teachers, made me love them and feel so grateful for the opportunity to learn about these highly spiritual, sincere, wise, devout people, practicing this beautiful faith. It was an opportunity to learn about what non-radical Islam is like. I am from a Christian background, and other than some reading I have done about the Sufis, for the first time (with all due respect for everyone's religion and no disrespect of any other religion), I could see why people would call Islam "the religion of peace." I felt that there is something sublime in the sincerity of their relationship with God. It seemed very beautiful. I felt it was a privilege to read about these things.

I also appreciated the descriptions of the devoted people in Syria, and the descriptions of Christians and Muslims getting along there, and his descriptions of Saudi Arabia, which dovetailed with other things I have read about Saudi Arabia. I was so interested to read about Mecca, and sorry to learn that the strict Wahhabi Muslims destroyed the birthplace of the Prophet and threaten other Muslims who may seem too devoted to the Prophet, or devoted in some "unacceptable" way.

I learned a lot from this book. I came away feeling hopeful. He says that the parents of the young radicals he knew did not support the radical violence the young people were proposing. He said many educated people who lived in Saudi Arabia responded to the extreme repression there by making arrangements to leave because they wanted their children to have a better life. He said he learned a lot about America from an actual American he met in an Arabic language class - Kelly, the first non-Muslim American he had ever known, who now is his friend.

Many people around the world have an angry feeling toward the United States. Some of that may be justified, because the United States is not perfect and does not always do the right thing. However, the United States is meant to stand for freedom, and in some ways, the United States does successfully stand for freedom. I think if more people could get to know each other as Kelly and Ed, did, our world would be a happier place, with less anger and violence. If we could get to know one another, maybe we could like and understand each other, and maybe forgive each other and find a way to live in peace.

The Dalai Lama has said that totalitarian governments cannot succeed, in the end, because they go against what all humans want: freedom to live in safety and peace, and freedom to express ourselves, and to offer something of value to others, and to prosper in our chosen activities. That is the pursuit of happiness. Life lived that way looks different for each of us, but the desire to seek fulfillment of our deepest wishes and highest goals is in each of us. Ed Husain's insightful and honest analysis of his journey shows that we all have that in common unless we are under the influence of an "ISM" of some kind. The dictatorships are pushing in the wrong direction, swimming against the current of the human spirit. Therefore, in the end, all these efforts to control, control, control will fail.

I have heard Deepak Chopra say that when something gives you a problem, it needs your blessing. I think we humans of the East and the West and the Middle East are giving each other problems. What we need from each other is our blessing. Ed Husain has shown me portraits of real people who understand this. The beautiful descriptions of his teachers, including the Sufis, is heartening, reassuring, admirable and utterly appealing. The sincerity and devotion of so many of the people he describes is touching. I loved them.

I want to thank Mr. Husain for his courage, integrity and honesty in writing this book. It is clear that even as a radical young man, he was trying to find a way to make the world better. After he saw the results of a violent path, he changed; and yet, he continued learning and studying, on his quest to make things better, to be someone who makes a difference, to offer something of value. In writing this book, he is continuing his quest. He is offering to us what he learned, reflected in what is best in his spirit, so that we can all understand each other better, and ultimately, have a better, more peaceful world. I would like to thank Ed Husain right now. Thank you!

This book would be an excellent choice for a discussion group, a book club, a high school class, a college class. Our political leaders, or anyone interested in politics, current events or international peace would benefit from reading this book. Really, anyone interested in making this a better world would benefit from reading this book. I highly, highly recommend this book.

In "The Islamist," author and scholar Ed Husain serves up himself as an example of how a moderate Muslim, born and raised in a secular Western society, (England in the 1990's), becomes a radical Islamist.

Beginning at about the age of 16, Ed Husain starts to travel a road of rising radical Islam. This is in part, his journey of teenage rebellion against his parents and family, a counterpoint to his father in particular. In his case, this teenage rebellion is no mere teenage phase in which one rebels against middle-class, moderate practices and values.

Ed Husain is increasingly drawn into an aggressive and violent form of Islam, an intolerant Islam that advocates global jihad. This is in-your-face Islam, belligerent and hostile to others and to other faiths: Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, even atheism and especially, to moderate and traditional Islam. This violent form of Islam or "Islamism" as Husain prefers to call it, is hostile to the values of Western society, to democracy, pluralism and to core principles of freedom, choice, religious tolerance and mutual respect.

What makes "The Islamist" an important work is that the author takes you down this path, his path, explaining its appeal to young and isolated Muslims living in a secular Western society. Having embraced radical Islam, Ed Husain leads the life of a radical Islamist, believing in and fully engaged in radical, violent activities. By his mid-twenties, certain events including a murder, maturation, study, insight and having certain key people come into his life lead him to disavow the actions and beliefs of his late teen and early twenties--and to change his life's course. "The Islamist" is a fine work by a thoughful man.

"The Islamist" should be required reading for people who value tolerance and freedom in Western cultures and who want to understand the process by which a young man (or a young woman) coming from a Muslim background may become radicalized.

"THE ISLAMIST" should be read by anyone and everyone concerned about Islam and terrorism, especially those who think there is some sort of intrinsic connection between the two. Born in London to Indian immigrants, Husain was raised in a community of devoted, compassionate, and deeply spiritual Muslims with a profound love for God and their fellow human beings. But as a teen he was drawn away from his spiritual roots and got caught up in a politicized form of Islamic fundamentalism filled with the rhetoric of hate, violence, and world domination. After five years devotion to this political ideology masquerading as religion, Husain's sleeping conscience was slapped into wakefulness when he witnessed real bloodshed flowing from the hateful rhetoric he had been propagating. Thus began the long process of cleaning his mind and soul from the poisonous political perversion of the authentic Islamic faith of his youth.

Husain accomplishes two great tasks in "The Islamist."

1. He clearly defines political Islamism as utterly distinct from the spiritual practice of the religion of Islam. As an Islamist, Husain was committed to a political movement that was antithetical to spiritual Islam and used Islam as a tool to influence Muslims and gain support for their cause.

2. He names many of the "moderate" Islamic groups that are in fact front-groups for Islamic fundamentalists. This is extremely important so that those of us working for world peace will not be duped into supporting terrorist groups.

This book is an antidote for many of the primary errors that continue to exacerbate the problem between Islam and the West. Again, I say that it should be read by anyone and everyone concerned about Islam and terrorism.

This review is from my blog:
[...]

A book about the life long experiences of a young Bangladeshi who followed the lead of Islamists to be involved in what he thought was a search to be a better muslim and turned out to be of him being recruited in Political Islam. Very interesting book, he does a great job in describing every little detail the mentality of Islamists (not to be confused with believers of Islam) and this book will open your eyes as to the reality of the threat of political islam has on Europe's way of life, and how the Islamist seek the replacement of common western social values and ways of life with the totalitarian way of life as interpreted from the Koran by Islamists.

This is a really great book and I highly recommend it, both as a compelling autobiography and as a way to learn about Islam and Islamism. One thing I learned from this book is the tremendous variation within Islam. The distinction that was most important to me was the difference between Religious (or Spiritual) Islam and Political Islam. The values and social ideals of Religious Islam are virtually identical to Christiaity and Buddhism (the two world religion with which I am most familiar). The emphasis on care for the poor, the needy, and less fortunate is indistinguishable among these religions. Further, Islamic mysticism describes Allah in the same sacred language used by mystics of all stripes. This blends well with our religious heritage and adds new inspiring stories and language that will benefit all with an open mind.

On the other side is Political Islam, it's hatred of the West, it's lack of sound Islamic scholarship and spirituality, it's bigotry and shameful treatment of women, it's dedication to an Islamic State, and it's willingness to kill in order to attain it. This form of Islam, and I hesitate even calling it Islam given it's shallow scholarship and deviance from fundamental Islamic values and teachings, breeds extremism and terrorism. This form of Islam poses a concrete threat to America and other Western countries. Within our country, as well as countries throughout the world, this twisted form of Islam is taught, primarily, by missionaries from Saudia Arabia. They have combined a rigid, severe, and literalist version of Islam that dates to the mid 1700s with the political goal of transforming the world into a single Islamic state. They are True Believers of the worst kind and the foundation on which Islamic terrorists stand.

Note: After reading The Islamist and writing the review above, I read Islam by Seyyed Nasr, an excellent overview of Islam. One point that he makes is that Islam is not just a religion, but a way of life, and that Islam permeates all aspects of the Muslim,s life, including politics. Because this applies to all forms of Islam, the distinction made in The Islamist, and repeated in my review, between "Religious Islam" and "Political Islam" is not correct, or at least not precise. Other labels also have there shortcomings, so I will let the wording used by the author stand. Nonetheless, The Islamist remains and excellent, powerful, and intensely personal work.

First off, I want to give extremely high praise to this book. It was extremely well written and engaging. It had a great overall narrative and also was insightful and educated. While it is definitely autobiographical it has a broad application and is able to elucidate a whole spectrum of issues that are relevant today in a variety of contexts.

The background of the story: Ed Husain (his full name is Mohammed Mahbub Husain but was shortened to Ed, to my surprise, while he was in Syria, not to appear more Western. You'll have to read the book to get the full, and somewhat humorous story of that.) was born in Britain and grew up largely within the significant immigrant community of London's East End. As he describes himself he is "British by birth, Asian by descent, and Muslim by conviction." His story is one that explores the struggle of coming to grips with these identities. Here is his own description of the book.

This book is a protest against political Islam, based on my own experience as a British Muslim who grew up in London, became an extremist - an Islamist - and saw the error of his ways.

His first exposure to Islam came through his travels with his grandfather. He was a well respected spiritual leader who during his visits to Britain allowed Ed to travel with him to various speaking engagements. Through this he was exposed to an Islam that was internal, primarily concerned with one's own relationship with God. However, it was not long before Ed came to reject this sort of Islam as dated and out of touch.

"A young boy's company determines his destiny. - Eastern proverb"

As Ed entered his teenage years he was exposed to an Islam shaped by the writings of Mawdudi, Sarwar, Qutb and others. This Islam was not concerned with an individual's relationship to God but with a political agenda. It was one that used religious rhetoric to justify it's political ideas. As Sarwar writes "Religion and politics are one and the same in Islam. They are intertwined." Ed soon became involved with groups in Britain that appealed to young Asian's (many Pakistani and Bangladeshi) to give themselves to the cause of the "Ummah." They were not to identify as "British Muslims" but as "Muslims living in Britain." They were living in London yet it was a completely isolated experience.

"I was sixteen years old and I had no white friends. My world was entirely Asian, fully Muslim. This was my Britain. Against this backdrop, the writings of Sarwar's guru, Mawdudi, took me to a radically new level."

In this world of Islamism Ed engaged in organizing events and recruiting others to join their cause. He was part of groups that gave a visible identity to the children of British immigrants. It seemed at the time to be much more exciting and relevant than the old "spiritual" Islam that his parents and grandfather practiced. It led to him leaving home and being embraced by this new community. In this new community they took it upon themselves to enforce an external Islam on those around them. They strongly "encouraged" changes in dress (growing beards, wearing robes, women wearing headscarves) and actions and opposed any who did not join them.

It is interesting to me that for these people who were living in Britain and allowed to voice their views only because it was a democratic society were arguing loud and long against that same society. To them "democracy was haram." Yet it was only democracy - a place for dissenting voices - that allowed them to express their views.

"For how much longer, I ask, will we tolerate the hypocrisy of such people enjoying British life while calling for its destruction? When will Islamists halt this doublespeak?"

However, as his story progressed, especially during his time abroad in Syria and Saudi Arabia studying Arabic, Ed came to see the shallowness and emptiness of the Islamist movement. At the height of his Islamist activities his actual observance as a Muslim was at an all-time low.

"My life was consumed by fury, inner confusion, a desire to dominate everything, and my abject failure to be a good Muslim. I had started out on this journey `wanting more Islam' and ended up losing its essence."

It was at this point that he began to search for spiritual solace and meaning for life and would turn to whoever could give it. It was largely through exposure to the writings and sermons of some American Muslim's that Ed ultimately returned to an Islam in many ways similar to that of his grandfather. It was largely shaped by Sufi influences like Rumi. It was ultimately about an individual's relationship to God.

Of his previous Islamist ideology he writes this:

"My time in Saudi Arabia bolstered my conviction that an austere form of Islam (Wahhabism) married to a politicized Islam (Islamism) is wreaking havoc in the world: Baghdad, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Cairo, Istanbul, New York, Madrid, London . . . the list of cities that have suffered Islamist wrath goes on. This anger-ridden ideology, an ideology I once advocated, is not only a threat to Islam and Muslims, but to the entire civilized world."

There is far more in this book. It provides a great backdrop for a number of extremely relevant issues. For one trying to understand the psyche of Muslims in Britain and the challenges they face this book is extremely helpful. For those worried about the dangers of homegrown terrorism this book is extremely helpful. For those who want to better understand how to relate to their neighbors of a different faith this book is extremely helpful. For those who are trying to get their heads around the concepts of democracy and religious pluralism this book is extremely helpful.

Ed's conclusion to the book is fitting and definitely worth sharing:

"Islam is the antidote to extremism, to Islamism. It's important to remember that ordinary Muslims have been the greatest victims of Islamist terror, and that their desire to put an end to the threat is perhaps greater than ours.We must recapture Islam from Islamists, neutralise radical theologies, and empower pluralist Muslims.This is our first line of defence against terrorism."

I read this book in three days during a busy period. It is excellent. Husain shows how an immigrant group in Great Britain is deceived into thinking that political Islam or Islamist thought is the one true religion of the world. Those that think it practice a form of bigotry not seen since the Klu Klux Klan. They think that all others whose beliefs are different from their own are kafirs and can be destroyed. Islamists actually know less about the Koran than true believers, but they are centered on establishing the Islamist state. They use terror to establish their credentials. Husain visits Arab society in Saudi Arabia and find a society less than equal and also cruel. The author comes away thinking that society in the west and those in countries like Syria actually offer a better solution than that posed by the Islamists.

This is a revealing portrait of political Islam. It is something the West should not ignore. These groups pose a threat to our society that must be recognized for what it is.
Why should we let Islamists threaten our society? Husain does not turn his back on his religion. He believes in Islam. He just does not believe in political Islam.

I have purchased items from Amazon.oom and have never been disappointed. My last purchase was a book entitled "The Islamist". I received it in good time and the book was in excellent shape.