Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2468 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-03
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Sunday Times
Insightful and gripping

Simon Jenkins, Sunday Times
All who glibly generalise about the no-man's-land between terrorism and multiculturalism should read this articulate and impassioned book.

Martin Amis
A persuasive and stimulating book.

Customer Reviews

Quite Good
An adolescent flirtation with extreme political ideas followed by the realisation that he was a bit less than educated.

All power to his rallying call for moderate muslims to have a public voice.

Tends to lend a bit of credence tothe Sam Harris theory that without moderate religion we wouldn't have extremist religion; after all, had Ed been brought up as an atheist he wouldn't have flirted with Islamism.

Excellent book
It's a question you ask yourself, especially after 9/11 and 7/7 - why do some people behave the way they do (against the country of their birth in some cases). This book explains the mentality behind such people, how they are recuited to a cause and the way they deal with consequences of those issues.

Very easy to read, though the content is quite disturbing. Thought provoking and a wake up call on how to prevent other people from doing the same.

Capturing the Zeigeist
It is quite surprising, having seen the glowing reviews which feature here and which adorn the cover of the book itself, to actually read the book which purports to offer an honest narrative of Ed Husain's involvement with Hizb ut Tahir ('Why I joined radical Islam in Britain, what I saw and why I left').

Initially there is an attempt by Husain to explain how he became involved, a process which he links to feelings of alienation informed by his experiences at school, and by a growing anger at images relating to Muslim experience abroad. The overriding impression is of a very young and intellectually moribund man emerging strongly as an empty vessel waiting to be filled. This can be seen by his apparent engagement with texts written by Qutb and Mawdudi which refer to the Qur'an - and by Husain's description of listening and reciting the Qur'an under the apparent guidance of his beloved 'Grandpa' -the commonality being that both of the practices described are not predicated on rational discourse or thinking, and Husain was clearly not able to engage meaningfully with either.

And it continues. Husain finally chooses to disengage with HuT after the death of a fellow student, and because of the love of a good woman ('Faye') - who remains a relatively opaque figure despite her apparent importance. He then discovers the joy of philosophy and politics at University (p160-164) - leading to a few pages in which Husain eulogises about his marvellous realisation that much of what he had been exposed to as a member of HuT had drawn from the political language and systems which he so despised. Finally we see Husain teaching abroad, and being exposed to attitudes which lead him to recognise the plurality within Islam, the apparent irrationality of views which he had once shared and promulgated and a re-engagement with a traditional Islam practised by his family and wider community.

Repenting of, and recognising the error of his ways, he then returns to the UK vowing to expose HuT and others of their ilk, which leads him to offer his views on the failure of multi-culturalism and the need for wider society to engage and challenge the Muslim community.

Given this apparent experience, the book might appear to offer an important and timely explanation regarding radical Islam, with its authority deriving from the experience and expertise of a former practitioner. Yet despite this, in my view, doubts remain. There can be no disguising the superficial nature of Husain's description of his radicalisation, and his failure to convincingly justify or fully explain his involvement. Indeed a cynic could opine that Husain's narrative is little more than the description of typical teenage angst, with all the questions that arise with that state (alienation, over exaggerated sense of self importance, a need to belong), but placed within slightly different narrative terms. This sense of superficiality continues through his self-described Damascene moment and the turning away from HuT - which begins when he is confronted with real, bloody violence and death. A cynic might see this rather as a young inexperienced man losing his nerve - not the reaction expected of a self-described radical Islamist and potential Jihadist.

Furthermore, given the political context against which this narrative is set, one is forced to question the apparent ease with which a self-described Islamist can go to Saudi Arabia to work for the British Council (a representative arm of the United Kingdom PLC), without attracting the attention of the UK Security Services. And this leads to further questioning of the authenticity of this narrative, and the intention behind its production and the timing of its publication.

All of this leads to the conclusion that this book truly is an example of 'the Emperor's new clothes', it offers nothing new to the study of radical Islam, and offers nothing by way of enlightened insight or discourse. Husain might very well have had an experience with HuT, but he lacks the required intellect to construct and provide a penetrating and worthwhile analysis of the subject matter. And yet, despite this, the simplicity of this book appears to have seduced readers in to unquestioningly accepting the purported wisdom contained therein.

To understand this book, it is worth considering the fact that Husain is actively involved with the Quilliam Foundation, which recently announced the launch of its mission to actively counter and challenge radical Islam and HuT in particular. This is an organisation seeking to establish a meaningful presence regarding policy making and also obtaining government funding and backing. The superficial analysis offered by Husain appears to offer the solution to the questions being asked at the present time regarding radical Islam, and the Quilliam Foundation and this book are part of that easy analysis.

Most significantly, despite Husain's engagement with Western political and philosophical thought, this is a book which sees the future engagement with radical Islam as being determined and framed by and for Muslims - conditionally based on the unquestionable legitimacy of Islam. Thus Husain's exposure to rationality appears to have singularly failed to lead to any critical consideration, examintaion or reappraisal of Islam itself.

This is not a 'captivating and terrifyingly honest' (The Observer) book, nor is it 'persuasive and stimulating' (Martin Amis). It is a book that offers a single testimony of questionable legitimacy and authenticity which (despite claims to the contrary) offers no credible or original analysis of use to the ongoing debate within the UK regarding 'radical Islam'.