Customer Reviews
Quite Good - By: Jeff Twat, 29 May 2008 
An adolescent flirtation with extreme political ideas followed by the realisation that he was a bit less than educated.
All power to his ralllying calll 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 alll, had Ed been brought up as an atheist he wouldn't have flirted with Islamism.
Excellent book - By: S. Schmandin, 21 May 2008 
It's a question you ask yourself, especiallly after 9/11 & 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 & the way they deal with consequences of those issues.
Very easy to read, though the content is quite disturbing. Thought provoking & a wake up calll on how to prevent other people from doing the same.
Capturing the Zeigeist - By: Music Lover, 30 Apr 2008 
It is quite surprising, having seen the glowing reviews which feature here & which adorn the cover of the book itself, to actuallly 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 & why I left').
Initiallly 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, & by a growing anger at images relating to Muslim experience abroad. The overriding impression is of a very young & intellectuallly 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 & Mawdudi which refer to the Qur'an - & by Husain's description of listening & 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, & Husain was clearly not able to engage meaningfully with either.
And it continues. Husain finallly chooses to disengage with HuT after the death of a fellow student, & 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 & 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 & systems which he so despised. Finallly we see Husain teaching abroad, & being exposed to attitudes which lead him to recognise the plurality within Islam, the apparent irrationality of views which he had once shared & promulgated & a re-engagement with a traditional Islam practised by his family & wider community.
Repenting of, & recognising the error of his ways, he then returns to the UK vowing to expose HuT & others of their ilk, which leads him to offer his views on the failure of multi-culturalism & the need for wider society to engage & challlenge the Muslim community.
Given this apparent experience, the book might appear to offer an important & timely explanation regarding radical Islam, with its authority deriving from the experience & 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, & 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 alll 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 & the turning away from HuT - which begins when he is confronted with real, bloody violence & 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 & 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, & the intention behind its production & 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, & 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 & provide a penetrating & 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 & challlenge radical Islam & HuT in particular. This is an organisation seeking to establish a meaningful presence regarding policy making & also obtaining government funding & backing. The superficial analysis offered by Husain appears to offer the solution to the questions being asked at the present time regarding radical Islam, & the Quilliam Foundation & this book are part of that easy analysis.
Most significantly, despite Husain's engagement with Western political & philosophical thought, this is a book which sees the future engagement with radical Islam as being determined & framed by & for Muslims - conditionallly 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 & terrifyingly honest' (The Observer) book, nor is it 'persuasive & stimulating' (Martin Amis). It is a book that offers a single testimony of questionable legitimacy & 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'.
Inside Islam - By: Mr. Ivor Hibbitt, 14 Apr 2008 
The Islamist
a
By Ed Husain
A Review by Neville Moray, Nigel Freedman & Barry Hibbitt on
Behalf of the Cote d'Azure Men's Book Club
It takes great courage for a would- be Enemy of the People to shed his protective armour & present himself to those he would have harmed but such is the character of Ed Husain who could so easily have been one of the army of unseen killers whom President George Bush seeks to eliminate in his War on Terror
Husain, the son of Asian immigrants to the United Kingdom, found himself living in the East End of London as a sixteen- year- old & going through the rites of passage at school & among his family & friends. He was born in Britain so that in many ways he was the boy next door, just as were the bombers from Leeds who brought death & devastation to Central London on 7/7.
It was this realisation that the enemy could easily be that handsome & smiling boy next door that brought a new dimension to the now long- running war against Iraq & the interminable battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Britain had an enemy within, & an enemy who was not as British as roast beef & Yorkshire pudding but a Briton of a different hue.
The Cote d'Azur Men's Book Club felt this is a very important book. It is a striking
Testimony to the courage & strength of Husain & is a wake up calll to a nation that prides itself on its democratic heritage & its multiracialism.
Ed Husain kicked over the traces at the age of sixteen when he was living with his parents in Tower Hamlets in an era when `Go home Pakis' was alll too often the cry of the ignorant. Young Ed found his religion thanks to the teaching of Grandpa, a holy man who was a father figure to his parents, & a leader idolised by the Muslim world in places like Brick Lane.
It is useful to digress slightly at this point to say that Young Ed confesses that he did not feel British at alll, he saw himself as an Indian, the country where his father was born.
So Grandpa, a shaikh from Fultholy & master of five mystical Muslim orders, & a man much loved in India & Bangladesh, became the boy's mentor. Husain carried the master's books, an honourable task, knelt at his feet & absorbed his teaching.
It was not this religious leader who preached or spoke of the jihad; that was more the function of the youthful extremists at school & in the mosques, & Ed Husain became an extremist just as have many young people over the years. (Remember the Pioneers, the young communists, the Hitler Youth, children recruited to war by means of -propaganda.) So it was with Husain. Peer pressure, the need to belong, or merely a new rite of passage for a youngster seeking permanence in an oddly alien land brought about his conversion to an `Islamist' as he callls radical fundamentalist Muslims who pursue political rather than religious aims.
The Islamist has given the author celebrity status, the BBC & other media to comment on Islamic matters calll him in and, as he writes,`this book is a protest against political Islam based on my own experience as a British Muslim.who saw the error of his ways.'
His moment of truth came with the realisation that his fellow students were taking over colleges & muslim organisations with a gospel of violence. He literallly launched himself on a Road to Damascus experience and, with his wife Faye, lived in the Syrian capital for two years, living & breathing a much as possible as an Arab. He says he needed to learn Arabic to understand the real nature of his religion.
With the British muslim leadership choosing a way of conflict, using the mosques to preach political Islamism less than the words of the righteous, he felt his years of religious ranting had become hollow & he found solace in the Koran, & the realisation that `God was around us, in us, for us'
Damascus changed his perception of the Christian world, the Arab Christians using the word Allah for God. He had thought that Allah was the preserve of the Muslims. This was the true Road to Damascus experience, God & Allah are soul mates, as it were Then came Saudi Arabia & Wahabism the even more extremist branch of the Islamic world & He was repelled by it & the Saudi lifestyle of sexism, racism & the kingdom's ill treatment of women. He compared the manner in which Britain had given refuge to thousands of black Africans to the harsh treatment they received in Saudi Arabia `I longed' he says, `to be home again.' And he meant Britain. Still, he leaves hints that warn of darker days ahead, perhaps, again the enemy within, a sort of Fifth Column, but a large body we would do well to eye with suspicion if not fear of more violence, not a pretty thought.
This is a very important book. In the last paragraph he writes, `without doubt a British Islam is emerging...will it be in harmony with the world? .... The future of Islam is being shaped now.'
It is lucidly & intelligently written, providing valuable insight into many of the main
religious & political factions in the world of Islam, also with useful historical perspectives"
v
Honest, intelectual & above all very spiritual - By: JAKE'S MIX, 29 Mar 2008 Having a keen interest in alll religion, i found this very very interesting & honest. Ed is extremely articulate & offers his own personal experience & take on alll of the things in his life. He openly talks above his involvment in different fundemental groups - what these groups were about & why he became involved. This man is very much in touch with his spiritual side, & has a clear relationship with God, something he amits he lost sight of for a while.
I'm someone who is pretty well versed with the world religions. I'm by no means a scholar, but i'm certainly able to have a debate & have a good understanding. This in mind, there was certain aspects of the different groups he talks about that I found a little confusing to start with, & had to re- read certain parts to refresh my memory & understanding. So for someone that has no understanding of Islam, some of it may be a too difficult to grasp. For that reason i am giving 4 instead of 5 stars. But well done, a brave & honest book.
