"When I was sixteen I became an Islamic fundamentalist. Five years later, after much emotional turmoil, I rejected fundamentalist teachings and ret...
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Aug 02, 2011
This is a challenging and extremely important book. The author got swept up into a world of religious fundamentalism in the segregated streets of East London and was blindly stoking the fires of religious separatism and hatred until the reality of the Islamist agenda he was promoting was challenge in the death of an "outsider". The authors world was turned upside down as he began to challenge his own assumptions and those of the people he had been associating with. Finding his spiritua
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Mar 19, 2009
Ellen
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This is an excellent book for anyone confused about the rise of Islamism, or radical Islam. As we follow the journey taken by the author from moderate but uninvolved Muslim to Muslim anarchist to thoughtful Muslim in a post-9/11 world, we see some of the different threads of political and religious beliefs that have led to the various factions in the Arab world today. This is not an exhaustive study by any means, but it comes across as well-informed and heartfelt.
The author, Ed Husa More...
The author, Ed Husa More...
Feb 06, 2012
Ben
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Part memoir and part debate on the causes and rise of radical Islam in Great Britain, Ed Husain’s The Islamist is revealed to be essential reading. His erudition and honesty form the backbone to this compelling and stimulating story of his involvement with Islamic fundamentalists in London mosques as a teenager to his complete indoctrination until one moment of violence leads to the unravelling of everything he thought he held dear. Had this just been the narrative of those events I doubt this b
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Dec 14, 2011
Ahmed
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Don't waste your time on this book, i've never read something so simplistic in my life. Right from the start the author feels no need to explain *why* political islam (or a single one of their varied offshoot ideologies) is bad, but merely assumed the reader is already afraid of it and proceeded to back up these fears with a series of anecdotes of his teens. In case you put it down for a while and forget your fear, each chapter conveniently starts with a scary out-of-context quote by a famous Is
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Nov 02, 2011
Muhammad
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Muslims who insist that the Hijab is a piece of clothing that protects a woman's modesty , do yourselves a big favor. Pick up this book and read it from cover to cover.
Ed Hussein is a self-confessed former Islamist who has since reformed his ways - as how he described it. He grew up in London amongst peers and neighbors of the same religious denomination. The Islamist is a tale of how Islam has evolved within him from being subtly spiritual to being overtly political, and how he has ma More...
Ed Hussein is a self-confessed former Islamist who has since reformed his ways - as how he described it. He grew up in London amongst peers and neighbors of the same religious denomination. The Islamist is a tale of how Islam has evolved within him from being subtly spiritual to being overtly political, and how he has ma More...
Jan 04, 2011
Andrew
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Picked this up after seeing a friend read it (so an opportunistic find) and have to say it is one of my most captivating, thought-provoking and fascinating reads of late. Found this review (below) from someone else on the book's content, which I broadly agree with, although I might have phrased a few bits differently. Overall, an easy enough book to read, whose content (for me) was utterly gripping and could not be more relevant to someone interested in the Britain, and the world, around them.
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Aug 18, 2011
Rachel
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This book was recommended to me when it first came out, and I was studying religion at university. It describes one man's story of growing up in East London, becoming religiously aware, becoming involved in Islamist fundamentalists against the wishes of his family and his eventual change of heart after about 5 or 6 years and then how he found his own spirituality and expression of Islam.
It was a real eye opener for me. I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian household and attended a fa More...
It was a real eye opener for me. I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian household and attended a fa More...
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Jan 09, 2010
James
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I came to this book having little understanding about the Islam faith, and its role around the world, so reading it taught me quite a lot. Having said that my main interest in this book was seeing how the author went from being a fairly typical British Muslim child to an Islamic fundamentalist. Despite being brought up by a family who was against any such radical views the step by step process was a interesting read. Equally interesting was how subsequently the author gradually moved away fro
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Apr 19, 2011
Serene
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I'm writing this review as an "insider" i.e. a Muslim who has lived most of her life in the West. As such, I can't tell how much of this book would be clear to an outsider, but there are other reviews to read if one wants to know. Anyway, I found this book most interesting for it's look at Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group I have heard of on occasion and even known a couple of members. I had no idea their ideology was so well-developed (yet at the same time, completely disconnected from reality!
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Sep 11, 2010
Karen
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Let me start by saying I never would have chosen this book on my own. It was a gift from someone and looked interesting so I said I would give it a try. I fully expected to flip through maybe 20 pages and put it down.
Instead, I stayed riveted throughout the entire book. The author is honest about his involvement in radical islamism and makes no apologies for it other than a few comments based on hindsight. (ie how could I have not seen...) Nor does he glorify or make excuses. It is j More...
Instead, I stayed riveted throughout the entire book. The author is honest about his involvement in radical islamism and makes no apologies for it other than a few comments based on hindsight. (ie how could I have not seen...) Nor does he glorify or make excuses. It is j More...
Jan 02, 2008
Lucia
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For anyone wondering how a British born Muslim can become a radical fundamentalist - this is the story. Very insightful, but a little bit scary to grasp just how easily 2nd & 3rd generation Muslims can become part of a terrorist movement and just how little the British government have done about it.
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Apr 02, 2008
Ismail
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This a must read for muslims to wake up to fanatics who are hijacking islam. A must read for non muslims to understand the turmoil within islam and that not all muslims are terrorists.
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Sep 22, 2008
Charlotte
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Everybody should read this book to understand extremism in British muslims. As a muslim i found this book to be extremely eye opening.
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Jan 19, 2010
Michael VanZandt
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I think that The Islamist is definitely an interesting read and very accessible. Perhaps, it is better to use it in American classrooms than British where is less tension revolving around Muslim identities. Although he discredits the self-righteousness of Islamists like the Hizb and Wahhabis, it appears that he exhibits the same moral superiority over them. Without question, I admire his tolerance and his mission. I wonder how convoluted it becomes in various British political agendas. Rega
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Jan 19, 2010
Talat
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I was wary of this one with its sensation and confessional title, but once I started it I kept reading until I finished it in a day. Set in England, Turkey, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, this is a fast-paced easy-to-read page turner, one that is probably a good place to start learning about Muslim terrorists. It turns out our protagonist and memoir-writer, Ed Husain (nee Muhammed Husain) was born into and raised in a Sufi family and as a boy took lessons from a Sufi master. Sufis are the meditative,
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Oct 06, 2009
Eyoki
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A book that is as frustrating as it is fascinating. Husain describes with great vividness his journey from innocent schoolboy to radical Islamist. What he says about the vulnerability of the outsider, overheated student politics and the blindness of first generation Pakistani community leaders to the realities faced by their children all ring true to me.
It is quite likely, as others have sneered, that he exaggerates his importance in the groups with which he was involved but that More...
It is quite likely, as others have sneered, that he exaggerates his importance in the groups with which he was involved but that More...
Jun 22, 2010
Sana
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I sometimes find it necessary to rate books in halves; this one gets a 2.5 and not the 2 I gave above.
This was a book in which I kept oscillating between agreeing and disagreeing with the author up to the last page. I understand and respect his earnest effort in trying to highlight the growing extremist trend in Muslim youth but his vitriolic narration against anything Saudi didn't sit well with me. When he can ask questions such as "Do all 'white Christians' think the same way? More...
This was a book in which I kept oscillating between agreeing and disagreeing with the author up to the last page. I understand and respect his earnest effort in trying to highlight the growing extremist trend in Muslim youth but his vitriolic narration against anything Saudi didn't sit well with me. When he can ask questions such as "Do all 'white Christians' think the same way? More...
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Nov 24, 2011
Hafsa
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There is a lot to say about this book. I read it for work as the author was supposed to visit us and speak to us about his work and the book. He had an emergency, so he could not make it, but the co-director of the organization that he runs, the Quilliam Foundation, was there and we had a fairly long discussion with him.
Basically, the book is about a young Muslim teenager growing up in the UK who was tempted and lured into the "Islamist" movement there--first through the J More...
Basically, the book is about a young Muslim teenager growing up in the UK who was tempted and lured into the "Islamist" movement there--first through the J More...
Apr 23, 2009
Milan/zzz
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I’ve read this book month ago and I really liked it.
It is sort of protest against politic Islam, based on personal experience. Namely this is for the first time that we have opportunity to read about Islamic fundamentalism and life within radical Islamic organizations from an ex-member. Namely Mr. Husain, British Muslim has become Muslim fundamentalist in sixteen an then years after he saw how wrong is that path. What has awaken his criticism (and opened his eyes) was personal experience w More...
It is sort of protest against politic Islam, based on personal experience. Namely this is for the first time that we have opportunity to read about Islamic fundamentalism and life within radical Islamic organizations from an ex-member. Namely Mr. Husain, British Muslim has become Muslim fundamentalist in sixteen an then years after he saw how wrong is that path. What has awaken his criticism (and opened his eyes) was personal experience w More...
Aug 08, 2009
Lexi
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Saw the author on "The Doha Debates" last year (http://www.bbcworld.com/Pages/Programme....). During the program he was very articulate and dedicated to combating extremism.
This book is Ed Hussein's story of his personal journey into and out of the Islamist movement in the UK. As Hussein depicts it, Islamism is the idea that the Islamic faith requires an Islamic political state--that political power and religion are one. Hussein's family, from India/Bangladesh, practic More...
This book is Ed Hussein's story of his personal journey into and out of the Islamist movement in the UK. As Hussein depicts it, Islamism is the idea that the Islamic faith requires an Islamic political state--that political power and religion are one. Hussein's family, from India/Bangladesh, practic More...
Mar 19, 2009
Teresa
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This book is incredibly interesting and informative. Husain gives an insider's account of how some of the Islamist (extremist) groups recruit at British high schools and colleges and how they indoctrinate their ideology. The author joined radical Islam when he was sixteen and later became a prominent member of one of the world's largest Islamic radical group, Hizb ut-Tahrir, in Britain. He sheds light on the alarmingly great influence these groups have in representing all of Britain's muslims in
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Sep 30, 2010
Leslie
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Fascinating book - I learned a lot. It had SO much detail about different Islamic groups and I confess that I did end up page skipping through some sections but I finally feel like I understand the difference between Muslims, those who practice Islam and Islamists. I was left with the overwhelming impression that although they all agree that Muhammad is their prophet and leader, how they interpret his life and writings is vastly different. These differences usually result in someone professin
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Aug 12, 2010
Erin
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I can't claim I always agreed with the author's conclusions (the librarian hippy in me just can't support the government limiting free speech rights), but it was a very informative read. He did a great job articulating why Islamism is appealing not just to the impoverished in the middle east, but to white collar, 2nd generation Western intellectuals. He also did a beautiful job articulating what moderate Muslims believe, why it clashes with Islamism, and explaining the need for moderates to defi
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Sep 30, 2011
Richard
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Fascintating read about a young Muslim who is indoctrinated by extremist, Islamist groups. It's a chance to gain an insight into the anti-democratic, violent & racist world of these groups and their objective of creating islamic states. It's chilling to think they are still operating in Britain and still inculcating young minds. Ed Husain believes they should be banned. It is difficult to argue with this conclusion after having read the book.
Sep 22, 2011
Jeremy
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One of the reasons I enjoyed this book is the complete refutation of the idea that Islam is inherently violent. While Mr. Husain initially associates with Hizb ut-Tahrir because of his religion, he is ultimately recruited because he is an angry, suggestible young man searching for validation and acceptance like all teenagers. Everything that follows is smoke and wires.
This is one of the few books I recommend to everyone.
This is one of the few books I recommend to everyone.
Sep 20, 2008
♥ Marlene♥
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on Sunday, July 27, 2008 I wrote about this book:
Finished this book yesterday.
it was definitely not an easy read, by far. Lots of Islam names and Islam groups. Wow they fight amongst themselves so much, so much rivalry. I liked the beginning, the middle I did start to get a bit bored but I did not want to give up so I tried and kept reading. Glad I did cause it teached me a lot.
How scary it is to know so many muslims are living next to us and think we are so far bel More...
Finished this book yesterday.
it was definitely not an easy read, by far. Lots of Islam names and Islam groups. Wow they fight amongst themselves so much, so much rivalry. I liked the beginning, the middle I did start to get a bit bored but I did not want to give up so I tried and kept reading. Glad I did cause it teached me a lot.
How scary it is to know so many muslims are living next to us and think we are so far bel More...
Sep 10, 2011
This personal memoir follows the story of Ed Husain, a Bengali-born Muslim living in England, who at the age of 15 got involved with extremist Islamic student groups calling for the establishment of an Islamic state. Husain recounts his experience in these groups until someone close to him was involved in a killing and he began to question his involvement. He discovers the more mystical branch of Islam known as Sufism, and draws away from radical Islam.
His story is compelling in itsel More...
His story is compelling in itsel More...
Jul 28, 2011
Gary
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A real revelation. Written very honestly. Think it took Ed Hussein a lot of courage to write this book. With some of the trouble going on in the world at the moment I think a lot of other people should read this book too. Clears up a lot of misunderstandings on both sides. Wish Ed Hussein the best of luck with what he is trying to do.
Nov 28, 2008
Andrew (Ace)
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Ed started off as a passionate Muslim, but soon became an Islamist, essentially an fundamentalist activist wanting states to be taken over by an Islamic political system. This book follows his journey in and trying to find his way out. Interesting, but hard to get through at times.
Feb 01, 2010
Kris
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This book has a lot of fascinating information about fundamental Islamists in Great Britain. While it got a little repetitive toward the end (particularly in drawing a line between spiritual Islam and political Islam), it was overall a very compelling read.
