Radical: My Journey out of Islamist Extremism

by Maajid Nawaz, Tom Bromley (Contributor)

„O carte de stringentă actualitate, recomandată oricui vrea să înțeleagă cum a apărut și cum poate fi învins extremismul care acum amenință lumea. Putea fi scrisă doar de cineva care a trăit printre adepții radicalismului islamist. Iar Maajid a trăit printre ei.” Tony Blair, fost prim-ministru englez„Extraordinara carte a lui Maajid Nawaz este esențială pentru a înțelege motivele tinerilor musulmani care îmbrățișează ideologia extremistă. Dintr-un adolescent care iubea muzica hip-hop, Nawaz a ajuns un islamist radical, înainte de a renunța definitiv la extremism. În prezent, luptă pentru a-i convinge și pe alții să nu aleagă această cale periculoasă. Vă îndemn să îi citiți mărturiile.” Anderson Cooper

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Politics, Biography, Memoir, Islam, Middle East

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2012

About the author

Maajid Nawaz is an author and Founding Chairman of Quilliam – a globally active think tank focusing on matters of integration, citizenship & identity, religious freedom, extremism and immigration.

Human rights and a respect for individual liberty are matters close to Maajid’s heart. His work is informed by years spent in his youth as a leadership member of a global Islamist group, and his gradual transformation towards liberal democratic values.

Having served four years as an Amnesty International adopted ‘prisoner of conscience’ in Egypt, Maajid is now a leading critic of his former Islamist ideological dogma, while remaining a Muslim.

He encourages the reform of Islam today, inclusive citizenship-based participation of Muslims in their respective countries, and seeks to synergize a respect for human rights with the civic liberal imperative to defend those in danger of being stigmatized by extremists of all stripes due to their personal choices.

Maajid's autobiographical account of his life story ‘RADICAL’ has been released in the UK and US.

Maajid is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society and has been listed as one of the most influential people in the UK Debretts 500 index, and the ‘Who’s Who’ index. Maajid is also a Daily Beast columnist, and provides occasional columns for the London Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal among others. Maajid was the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for the May 2015 British General Election, and remains the Parliamentary spokesman for Camden Liberal Democrats in London.

A British-Pakistani born in Essex, Maajid speaks English, Arabic and Urdu, holds a BA (Hons) from SOAS in Arabic and Law and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics (LSE). He is personally interested in Arabic grammar & morphology, Muslim Medieval jurisprudence and scholastics and emerging modern political thought and trends.

Maajid can be contacted on Twitter: @maajidnawaz

Reviews

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maajid Nawaz was brought up in a middle class British Pakistani household in Southend. As a teenager he experienced Paki-bashing at the hands of the notorious far-right group Combat 18. It became routine for him and his friends to carry knives – the threat of violence being ever present. It wasn't long before he was being being shown propaganda films showing the atrocious treatment and murder of Muslims in Bosnia and being recruited into the militant Hizb it-Tahir group (HT), an organisation with an aim to overthrow infidel regimes to establish a new Muslim Caliphate. As he puts it, he was looking for an identity: he didn't feel affiliated to either the UK or Pakistan, but this group offered another option – that of ignoring state boundaries and simply being part of a group comprising the worldwide population of Muslims.

At Newham College, London – where he became an HT recruiter - he witnessed the murder of a student in possibly the first Jihadist street killing. In fact, he came very close to being implicated in the event himself. After college, he moved on to undertake recruiting duties in Denmark and Pakistan before being arrested in Egypt in 2001, soon after 911. Here he was held as a political prisoner until 2006, at times witnessing the torture of fellow inmates.

During his time in prison, Maajid – realising he actually knew precious little about the religion he worshipped – spent much of time researching Islam. He also talked to fellow prisoners, some of whom had vastly different backgrounds and beliefs to his own. He eventually formed the view that Islamism (the desire to impose a version of Islam over society) was not a true to the teachings of the Quran. Moreover, Jihadism (the use of force to spread Islamism) was simply wrong. He decided that a secular Islam, where politics is separated from religion, was the model he wished to support. Consequently, upon his eventual real ease and return to the UK, he helped set up Quilliam, a counter-extremism think tank and engaged in a variety of counter extremist activities. He met with various heads of state, including George W. Bush and Tony Blair, and appeared on television shows advocating his stance and proposing new strategies. After the book was published, the author was selected as a parliamentary candidate for a London constituency, but he failed to win the seat.

It's a compelling tale and I can certainly buy the fact that someone with his background and life experiences could be swayed by the promise of a new identity and a cause to support. In truth, I find it somewhat harder to understand how this translates into a belief that radical action is required to the extent that the murder of innocent people becomes justified. Nonetheless, despite a slight whiff of self-aggrandisement rising from the pages, I did find this a compelling story. The fact that Maajid eventually became an active voice for counter-extremism offers some hope, and though his proffered ‘solutions’ seem to lack some depth it is clearly a complex problem that defies a simple answer.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know whether to call this very autobiographical account of an ex-Islamist and very eloquent Maajid Nawaz inspirational or megalomaniac. I thoroughly enjoyed the Essex racist scene and his descriptions of his time in Pakistan and Egypt. He has also very eloquently explained the difference between Islamism and Jihadism which I don't really see as much relevant to the whole debate. The book is filled with self glorifying stories plucked from Maajid's personal life whether he was in the Egyptian jail or in front of David Cameroon where Maajid was always important. Typical self righteous approach displayed by most second generation Pakistanis. I wish they could pick some of the humility of the British culture as well. Anyway, Maajid has given me the impression of changing ideologies from a very extremist Islamic view to a very extremist Islamophobic view. Although he has claimed that the change was gradual but I believe that Maajid flipped to the other extreme because the Islamists ditched him in his hour of need.

I would have been more comfortable reading his account if he had turned into a full fledge skeptic. His conversion from being a Hizb Tahir to anti HT wasn't very convincing as well. Why he choose to reject on multiple occasions in his life, gestures from other Muslims is a bit beyond me as my own experience of living in UK has been pretty humanistic in general. How a well educated otherwise eloquent Maajid failure to grasp basic human to human contact confirms his megalomaniac tendency. I think sooner or later he will end up joining politics.

[Malia]

This book was quite compelling, and though it dealt with troubling subject matter and Maajid Nawas is frequently not the most likable of people, the transformation of his mindset is both heartening and fascinating to follow. While he came across a little self-important, even when he was no longer espousing his radical views, and some of his arguments seemed too superficial, I still couldn't stop reading.

Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com

[Farah Didi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone who wants to learn about Islamic extremism and how easy it is for radical elements to attract young people. Maajid's personal story is so similar to those find in so many different countries. At times the book is hard going and gruesome, but well worth the read. Highly recommended.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this because it helped me understand the 'why' behind ISIS and other extremists, as well as ideas for combating this mindset. Not surprisingly, the solutions aren't as simple as political groups suggest. The hawkish 'us' vs. 'them' mentality plays right into the hands of these guys, who want to radicalize as many as possible. Aggression by a common enemy --the West-- practically does the job for them. But they are also smart enough to use liberals' political correctness to their advantage too. Interestingly, Nawaz' own turnaround came in prison from the examples of free thought, democracy and principled action he encountered in Amnesty International, Western literature and by delving into the actual Quran––not just the politicized version of it. No easy answers in this book (and I found the authors' ego annoyingly over the top), but plenty to think about.

[Farah Osman · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is painful. It is so poorly written and structured. The guy is a nut job; thank heavens that he is now on the side of Not promoting violence and not being a so called extremist. He is a total attention seeker. This volume has reinforced my view that extremism has nothing to do with religion or race or creed or ideology but with personality. This man would have been an extremist regardless of his religion and all the experiences that he describes. I went through identity crisis (plural) as well and was the odd one out and was subjected to racism as a minority in the west, of similar background and religion to him, I might add, but I did not go nuts. He is just nuts. I guess it's worth to read to understand nuts in the 21st century.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If ever there was a time to read this it is now. Yes, Maajid maybe self important but he's been there, done that and came out the other side. He has a wealth of knowledge and insight as to how some extremists develop and we need to understand how and why it is happening to the young impressionable, angry, frustrated men who are born into our country but do not feel as if they belong. They cannot go back to their own country. They are already living in their own country!

There are obviously more complicated and varied reasons for extreme beliefs and this book is undeniably important to try and understand and make changes to our understanding, behaviour and support. It is undoubtably in our best interests after all.

I didn't think I would feel so strongly about this until recent events in London. This book with hindsight had a warning that something like this could happen in Britain.

[Isil Arican · Rating 3 out of 5]

In short, this is a cognitive dissonance story of a megalomaniac.

I read this book after reading "Islam and the Future of Tolerance", which is a transcribed debate between Nawaz and Sam Harris. In the debate, I really like his manner and how he articulates his reasoning, so I thought this book would be interesting to read.
I was expecting this book to be more descriptive of his journey from a radical islamist to a moderate one, and definitely was expecting to read more about his thought process and how he convinced himself to think one way and then the other. I was really disappointed.
This book - even though he portrays it as his journey out of extremism- tells not much about it. There is not much details of what he was thinking, and how he made himself believe in things he doesn't believe now. Instead it is a self glorifying autobiography of a narcissistic person. Instead of looking into his transformation, he tells a story of what happened when and how he was always right. He was always the best guy, always thoughtful, made all the right decisions at right time. When those decisions turned out to be untrue there was always very convenient reason why he did so.
When he was into hip hop apparently he was the best hip hop fan, he then was the best graffiti artist. At university he was the best activist. When he became an islamist recruiter he was the best recruiter. When he went to jail, he was the best inmate ever. According to him he is always right, insightful and thoughtful. It is very annoying that there isn't a speck of self criticism in this book.

He glorifies all of his decisions and his actions with no regrets at all. To me he seems like a perfect opportunist that would take every opportunity , ideology and relationship (including romance) to benefit himself - to be more influential and more famous. He didn't even had the guts to tell his wife that he is leaving him, and left her a letter instead. And then he rationalizes why it was the right thing to do. Then he talks about how he decided to make peace with Ayaan Hirsi Ali. If you think it was due to his deep thinking you would be wrong. He was upset that his new wife went to a debate to listen to her not him ( the same debate they met), so he made a point of friending Ayaan Hirsi afterwards.

His life seems like filled with "a-ha" moments, and those moments came only when it was a convenience to him.

Another thing I find quite unbelievable his claim of not knowing jihadist movement's implications. He talks about political Islamism, and carves it our neatly to fit his narrative so he doesn't look bad, leaving the oppression of human rights, women's rights and connection with jihadists. I find it really hard to believe that he travelled across four countries, recruited hundreds of people without realizing its implications. And I am saying this as a person who lived in a Muslim country for most of her life. Even a stupid person would see the implications of these groups, and if he is as smart as he claims hundred times in this book, he is lying.

The only good thing about this book is the detailed distinction of Political Islam and regular muslims' beliefs. This seems to be the narrative that works for him lately, and it was exactly the part that made me like his stance in the "Future of Tolerance".

Maybe his best representative sentence from the book is: "The heart decides, and the mind follows." And it should be exactly the opposite, because we do have a brain for thinking before acting.

[Chris Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a crucial book, it must be read. But I only gave it three stars?! So ... it is not beautifully written and Maajid Nawaz clearly has an enormous ego which he is stoking throughout the entire book. But it helps in understanding some very crucial issues that are currently very topical. Somebody once told me that Islamism is like Marxism, in that it's not just a political idea, it offers solutions for absolutely every concern that you have in life, especially for young people who are looking for those kind of solutions. This is illustrated in a very tangible, vivid way through Nawaz's life story, which is certainly not a typical one.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some months ago, I came across a TV interview segment that went something like this :
Interviewer: "What would you say was the most important thing that made you question your dedication to radical Islamism cause?"
Interviewee, who happened to be Maajid Nawaz (after a bit of fumblings): "Amnesty International advocating for me, while I was imprisoned in Egypt."

I support AI, and from time to time I am prompted to ponder some of their more non-conventional causes. Like the old incarnation of Mr Nawaz. The interview snippet caught my attention for that exact reason, and this book helped crystalize some of my thinking around the topic.

Mr Nawaz is an author who can be challenging for many people - very self assured, sometimes to the point of self aggrandizement. But he is also a man of sharp and vigorous intellect, and things he has to share are worth listening to. I recenly read Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue(transcript of his discussion with Sam Harris) and I deeply appreciate the work he is now doing, and the effort he is putting into building the bridges with anyone willing to engage in a dialog. It is an absolute shame what SPLC is doing to him and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, with their nebulous inclusion on the "anti-Muslim extremists" list. Such are the times we live in. Maajid Nawaz sets himself against almost impossible odds​, and maybe it takes someone so self-assured and driven to undertake such a cause.
Interestingly, he was a friend and co-idealist of Ed Husain, the author of The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left, which I read years ago. It will be interesting to reread it again, and compare the two.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

He interviewed so well on Fresh Air that I wanted to read the book. Unfortunately, he is more articulate in an interview than in writing and he had too little to say for an entire book. It's a memoir so naturally it will be one sided and he will come across full of himself. But he is even more narcissistic than to be expected just because he is telling his story. I am less interested in his being a 15-year old thug and there is more about this part of his life than I cared to know. It is helpful to set up the context on how racism and xenophobia in England contributes to Islamicism (his term for a political, not religious Islam) particularly of young people but he got too excited about his angry young man persona. Then he outlined how he travelled to Pakistan, Denmark, and Egypt to recruit radicals. Of course he was better than everyone else that came before him because he is so charismatic, articulate, and perfect. I was much more interested in learning about his de radicalization after serving four years in an Egyptian prison. His coverage of his abrupt change in ideology was insufficient. I cannot believe he turned, losing his wife and son, his brother and friends, because of a single comment made by one person. I learned about the discussion of Islamic state and a califate earlier than I realized it happened and I understood more about recruiting radicals but this book is overwhelmingly unsatisfying.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I understand it, Nawaz wants to end Islamism as a political tool and means of justice (Sharia). Islamism is a “political system inspired by modern European constructs, justified by seventh-century norms.” It is an “ideology of victimhood,” “…grievances, identity crises, charismatic recruiters and compelling narratives,” “a political movement with religious consequences” Al-Qaeda is a type of Jihadism formed from Salafism and Islamism. Nawaz wants separation of Mosque and State. Unlike Hirsi Ali, he does not want Islam reformed. He does want to end the Left's appeasement toward Islamism, white racism in the West and despotism in Muslim majority states. He proposes a third way using some of the same tactics as the Islamists, igniting a cultural shift toward democracy. He founded Quilliam in London to get the ball rolling.

As another person on GR pointed out on a friend's thread: The Koran is the word of Allah, therefore, unlike Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, it cannot be questioned. A Muslim must submit. This makes it hard to understand how we can move forward without a reformation of the religion itself.

As I’ve mentioned before, Western Civilization suicide can be very, very patronizing: “… there was an arrogant assumption that Islamism was a true expression of our authenticity…. Liberal values were expected of the civilized white person, but the brown Muslim could not be held to those same standards and should be judged by his or her own ‘authentic’ culture’.” “On many occasions after my talks, people—usually white liberals---would stand up and declare that I had no idea what is was like to suffer as a victim of society[!]…. I was told that the terrorists’ reactions cannot be separated from their social causes and the blame lies squarely on society.[!!!]” NB: The leader of HT when Nawaz was in college “was a Syrian in the UK on political asylum…” Calling Angela Merkel on her compromised mobile…

On his time as an Islamist: “…by defining ourselves against something, we were in fact defining ourselves by it.” “…my hatred was against myself…” How many times do we have to relive this? Self-hating, repressed obsessives are bad for society.

One of my reoccurring themes as I study terrorism is that torture, humiliation and intimidation do not yield reliable intel. These are tools for the insecure State and the unskilled interrogator. Furthermore, they create a more hardened enemy AND they destroy the interrogator (they are people, too). While Nawaz was imprisoned in Egypt: “The more the interrogators shouted at me, the more I buckled down for a fight.” (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...) (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...) Next President of the US: The War on Terror reinforces the Islamist narrative. “When tactics become strategy, you lose sight of the overall aim.”

Indulging in another fascinating phenomenon: Bosnia (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). It had a big effect on British Muslims allowing them to see that Islamophobia and persecution of Muslims was not necessarily about race. “…you could argue that just as Pakistan’s troubles with violent Islamism—Jihadism—were born through Afghanistan, European Jihadism was born through Bosnia."

I appreciate that Nawaz used some transliterated Arabic and explained the language a bit, here and there. “Arabic doesn’t contain the letter ‘p,’ and… they manage to shorten the double-vowel sound ‘ee’ to a single “i.” A word like ‘please’ … comes out as ‘bliss’. One day I was trying to teach Mahmood [in a God-forsaken Egyptian prison] the difference in pronunciation between “peach,” beach,” and “pitch”… Mahmood listened carefully, and then with all the sincerity of a former jihadist could muster he proudly spoke my words at the top of his voice: “Bitch, bitch, bitch!” I needed that.

Like Hirsi Ali, his book exasperates, horrifies and depresses but it ends on a positive: “Islamism is not the future. In time, people will realize how it is part of the past, the old order.” Fingers crossed but they are both right.

[Sarah Lameche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well what a surprise. I had only reached page three of this book when I was already seriously irritated by the author. He was talking like he was a gangsta from the hood and it brought back memories of the 90s when so many male Asian friends used to do this. Not a good start.
Anyway I plodded on to find that quite frankly, I couldn't find anything likeable about him. I know it's his book but it just felt so 'me me me'. You know how some people seem to hype themselves up? For example if a plane crashed he'd be the one who'd have rescued all the passengers? That's how lot of this book felt to me. When he was talking about his rapping days I was waiting to read that he was the one that taught Eminem how to rap...
Suffice it to say I wasn't looking forward to reading the rest of the book but continue I did and I was looking forward to reading about his time in prison in Egypt. (I have already read Ian Nisbets book his fellow jail 'mate').
Again I was surprised to realise that despite Ians book being less emotional and more matter of fact, I gained more of an insight from his.
I also previously read 'The Islamist' and wanted to compare events in the books. Some of them don't seem to correspond but then again two peoples experiences aren't going to be the same. Strangely enough I didn't like that author either. (Perhaps the prerequisite to being an Islamists is to have a rather big head?).
Maybe I am being mean. Either way Basically he is saying 'racism (a few other circumstances) made me take the path of an islamist.' Now what irritates me about both this book and the Islamist is they both had white friends. Not only that but a (white) complete stranger took a beating and stabbing for him. Therefore instead of using racism as an excuse to go off your trolley and become an Islamist why not think about all good that the non racist people have done in your life!?!?
OK OK life's not that simple I get it. Everyone makes their own choices. Right or wrong.
So where was I. Oh yes, I didn't warm to him and in fact the way he left his wife by writing a note? He had enough balls to not give in to torture but not enough to tell his wife to her face? By this time I thought nothing's going to warm me to this guy. Then the strangest thing happened... I did! By the end of the book I actually thought "Hey, he's OK!" but I couldn't understand why?
After wracking my brains I think maybe I have the answer.
I am a Muslim. I have seen snippets of this guy on TV. I think I got the impression that maybe he was a bit of a sellout. From one extreme to the other.
Perhaps I didn't want to like him? I wasn't even sure if he was still a Muslim at all.
I was wrong. I think he's just like millions of other Muslims. Who DON'T ever become Islamists. He's just normal except that due to circumstances he now has a platform that the rest of us don't. He can help try to stop this false 'Islam' spreading. Try and right his wrongs. Good on him I say. Allahu Akbar. God IS great.

[Mircea Petcu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drumul surprinzator de la islamist la democrat liberal

[Xander · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this biography Maajid Nawaz tells the story of a young hiphop-loving kid of Pakistani parents that ended up in an Egyptian prison as a radicalized islamist, only to see the (metaphorical) light and start a fight against the ideology of his former brothers.

This book offers the average person unique insights in the process of radicalization. It is not so simple as many people often portray it to be. A lot of factors are of importance, and in a sense the radicalization of so many Western-born muslim youths is a mirror to both Western countries as muslims.

The story starts in Southern England where Nawaz grows up in a predominantly white society. Throughout his youth he encounters racism and with the rise of neo-nazism in the 80's things turn very bad. Colored people form gangs to protect themselves against brutal attacks of neo-nazi's. It is in this environment that Nawaz has to grow up and when Nawaz and his friends discover that being a muslim makes the nazi's fear them, things gradually get worse and worse.

He moves to London to start school and join Hizb ut-Tahrir, a ideological islamist group. Due to his persuasiveness and charisma, Nawaz soon recruits many people for the cause. He even gets send to the country of his parents and grand-parents, Pakistan, and to Denmark to start up branches of Hizb ut-Tahrir over there. During this time he radicalizes and makes it his mission to help Hizb ut-Tahrir infiltrate an army and use this to overthrow the government to start a caliphate in Central Asia.

It is not unexpected that governments feel threatened by this and brutally suppress any infiltration attempt. Even so, Nawaz knows how to dodge everything. His luck runs out when he goes to Egypt. Officially to study, but secretly to strenghten a branch in Egypt. When, after a year, he is caught by Egypt's secret police, he is in for a long and nasty ride. First he spends months in torture complex, waiting for his turn to be eclectrocuted, beaten up and what more. It does come close to that, but before this terrible fate he is brought to an 'official jail' in expectation of his sentence.

It is in this jail that he spends years, meeting radical islamists, as well as political prisoners who are liberal or socialist. When confronted with all these different viewpoints, and combined with his own doubts, he starts to question his cause. It is when Amnesty International adopts him as a 'prisoner of conscience' that he finally breaks. People who he is supposed to hate, support him unconditionally.

When the British government manages his release after some years (5 if I remember correctly), he finally returns to the country where he was born. He divorces his radicalized wife and his son, and decides to start up a grassroots movement to develop a counter-narrative for muslims worldwide. This organization he names after the first Englishman who paid for the building of a British mosque in the 19th century (William Quilliam). The succes of Quilliam Foundation takes a long time to take off, but in the end he leads a worldwide organization that fights for a reformed Islam and the development of democracy and human rights in countries all over the world. The strength of this organization is its grassroots approach: Quilliam supports young people trying to fight for democratic values in their countries, often risking their lives in the process.

I am really impressed with this book. It gives me hope and shows clearly that, worldwide, millions of people are yearning for democracy and human rights - especially in the countries where Islam is the state-religion. The most important point is that people like Nawaz (among others) offer a counter-narrative to islamism. This gives millions of muslims information to think about and an option to commit themselves to a cause.

It also offers the public - especially in Western countries where problems with immigration and terrorist attacks are daily news - another voice in the public debates. Nawaz shows that 'the muslim' doesn't exist and that a reformation of certain islamic concepts is possible. Now it's up to us, non-muslims, to protect these bright beacons of light and to give them platforms to voice their cause.

Strangely, this last thing might the most difficult thing to accomplish, considering the stifling culture of political correctness. Reformers like Nawaz and Hirsi Ali can't speak without security clearing the building first, while the islamists get daily news coverage and meanwhile areprotected by progressives and 'liberals' who keep claiming islamism and jihadism have nothing to do with Islam. Treatment can only commence when the patient has been diagnosed in the right way.

[مصطفي سليمان · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب رائع عن قصة حياة مجيد نواز البريطاني الجنسية
ما رآه مجيد في رحلته يستحق حقا الأستماع ف الرحلة كانت غريبة وصعبة للغاية ف من عضو ف حزب التحرير الي مؤسس ل مؤسسة تساند حقوق الأنسان بكافة اشكالها

الرحلة شهدت الكثير من التقلبات و الكثير من المتاعب ولكن و سبحان الله نقطة التحول كانت في الاسكندرية عندما تم القبض عليه وتعذيبه ونقل للسجن المزرعة لمدة خمسة أعوام ل يقابل أشخاص مختلفة عنه تماما ل تجعله يعيد التفكير مرة أخري في كل شئ يعرفه وينظر خلفه علي ما آمن به ودافع عنه
الي أن وصل ل قناعة جديدة ولكن يعلم أن ثمن هذا التغيير لن يكون فقط مجرد تغيير مواقف سيكون نقلة ل كل شئ في دوائره

ستري الفكر المتعصب والمبررات التي تبدو منطقية وبها الكثير من المشاعر ستري كيف العقل يحاول المقاومة مع الوقت ولكنك تحتاج وقت و رغبة و المساحة للتجريب و البحث، انقلاب حزب التحرير عليه لمجرد اختياره ل طريق معاكس ونسيان كل شئ فعله مجيد للحزب ك عادة لطيفة للتيارات ذات المصالح بغض النظر عن خلفيتها ف بمجرد أختلافك تصبح عدو ويجب التشكيك ف النوايا

رحلة غاية ف الصعوبة ومليئة بالاخطاء ولكنه أعترف بها بشكل واضح وخاصة ف الجزء المتعلق ب اسرته وهذا أصعب جزء بشكل كبير بعد جزء التعذيب ب الوكالة.

تعتبر حالة مجيد و اصدقائه هي من اوائل حالات التعذيب ب الوكالة والتي عرفت بعد ذلك وكان سبب ف احراج كبير ل توني بلير و المملكة كلها

كتاب ممتع للغاية وينصح به

[Henry Manampiring · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not exactly a biography reader, but I got to say I enjoyed this one from beginning to the end.

This book reads on two levels. On one level this is a story about the author's life events, from enduring racism in UK, joining Hizbut Tahrir, imprisoned in Egypt, and his later departure from radical organization into fight for democracy.

On another level, this book is also about his ideology journey. How a rebellious hip hop artist finds radical ideology attractive, how he eventually discovers what is wrong with it, how finds new meaning of universal humanity, and how he redeems himself. There is a tragic section when he eventually understood that the Islamic Caliphate concept is ironically influenced by European colonialism, not by the religion itself.

This book is important to understand ISIS and its sympathizers, and carries even more important message to all moderate Muslims around the world. As Nawaz said, ignorance to Islamism will cost not only the true religion itself, but also future democracy and humanity.

[E.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this is one of the most important books of the last decade or so, the auto-biography of Majeed Nawaz - a committed fundamentaist for a decade, then undergoes a change of heart, becomes a committed liberal and founds the World's first anti-extremist organisation "Quilliam". Many thoughts, many arguments in this book r gems !
Also, importantly the book is written in a fast-paced, interesting style too.

[Son Tung · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gained even more respect for Maajid Nawaz after this book.

The 1st time i saw him was on a debate "Islam is a Religion of Peace- Intelligence Squared U.S" a few years ago. Maajid argued For and notably, Ayaan Hirsi Ali argued Against. Ali's book Infidel presented her own struggle of her life with self-identity, Islam, human and women rights, her journey to become an outside member of the faith. For Maajid, he is still believing Allah. Both of them had come through different path but eventually advocate for certain set of values. They both want to contribute to the European societies and Islam itself.

By no way have the feeling Maajid wrote this book in attempt to glorify himself, intentionally or not, rather i accept this personality, that is why he is the way he is. The narrative of his life was laid out convincingly enough for me, maybe i have exprienced some of those.
The dynamics between family members, schoolmates and racism in Britain had molded him, 1st into Bboy hiphop with catchphrase "F the police" and then Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT, an international, pan-Islamist political organization, which describes its "ideology as Islam", and its aim as the re-establishment of "the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate)" or Islamic state).

With Bboy hiphop, the underdog found its new strength amongs the teenagers, with HT, it is the profound strength of militanism, the glory past of Islam. The real journey began with HT, when there are real blood involved, not only in university vicinity but also on global scale. With the intention of establishing HT Egypt, Maajid was arrested, tortured and spent years in Egyptian jail as a British citizen accused of overthrowing Mubarak's goverment. Only the details drescribed well enough what he had been through.

There in the jails marked a new journey out of Islamism, through reading, rational arguments and rebuilding of new coherent system of belief. Maajid had to face many difficulties getting out of HT and started his own think tank Quilliam Foundation - the 1st of its kind to counter extremism, inspire change and promote pluralism. This is the legacy of over a decades of life spending fighting the imaginary enemy of Islam: the evil West.

Maajid considers the question of god's existance can be put aside while there are more urgent societal needed to be addressed such as racism, radicalized Islam amongst the youth. On this ground, believer or not, all have the responsibility to safeguard liberal democratic values.

Link to the debate, dated back in 2011:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh34X...

[Vicky Cepel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for all of us, describing as it does in a non-sensational fashion, the path of an intelligent, victimised, disaffected teenager into radical Islamism, his slow and painful enlightenment and his arduous journey out the other side.

Those expecting a Black and White picture or someone who now tows the Govt line will be disappointed as Nawaz refuses to apologise or condemn. Rather he attempts to shed light on how strong feelings can be misdirected and seeks to present a counter narrative for the future.

This is a man who thrives on a uphill struggle so the fact that the Islamists will be sure to smear and belittle him and cast him as a Govt puppet is no obstacle to him. I even dare to hope that someone of this strength of character might actually succeed.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a user friendly account, a good introduction, for someone not that familiar with the complexities of political/religious extremism. He explains well how the leap to extremism often isn't a leap at all but an evolution and how circumstances can make one ripe for the cause. He does come across as kind of full of himself which can be a little off putting but it's not too hard to overlook when one considers what he's seen and been through.

[T Zahid · Rating 1 out of 5]

911 cottage industry. Lot of people made lot of money writing books and forming think tanks.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hopeful book; Maajid clearly knows what he is talking about! I believe him when he says that radical Islamists can change, he did.

[KG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Examines the motives behind violent extremism (in his case, childhood bullying and racism).

"No idea is above scrutiny; no people beneath dignity."

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you were only going to read one book this year – this should be one of the candidates. And if you don't have time to read the book, at the very least read this review or watch some of Maajid's TED talks.

Few issues are as relevant and important today as the power of ideology, and the specific conflict between Islamism and Islamophobia. The books is full of insight and the personal narrative is compelling: a British-Pakistani boy devotes his life to Islamic extremism, is imprisoned in Egypt for his activities, and then leaves the ideology to found a counter-extremism movement.

First – “Islamism isn't a religious movement with political consequences, it's a political movement with religious consequences.” p 49

For the Islamists, faith is a given, but a very secondary one. Religion is not their priority – their focus is a complete upheaval of social and political structure, and the narrative used to promote that goal is a binary division between Muslims and the rest of the world. They present a globalization of grievances against Muslims and they've been very successful for decades in targeting youth – in recruiting the young, angry and disenfranchised, who are more susceptible to absolutes.

The story of Maajid's conversion to Islamic extremism began with racism. I thought he presented a compelling picture of how the fear and anger from being discriminated against and bullied by violent Skinheads created a need that extremism could fill. Islamism promised identity, safety, an outlet for anger, and hope of peace/order. It came from skilled recruiters ready to capitalize on the angst and identity issues of adolescence, and those recruiters came with compelling narratives.

Maajid then became one of those charismatic recruiters, and he realized the peculiar advantage his political agenda carried because of it's religious association:

“Islamism demanded no less of a root-and-branch overhaul of society [than communism]. But because it was cloaked in religious garb, no one quite knew what to do with it, and people were desperate not to offend.” p 70

Maajid and his fellow extremists felt disdain for the religious Muslims, and their agenda was political – I think this distinction is so important to make – Islam is a religion, but Islamism is a grievance-fueled social and political movement that seeks to impose a Caliphate – an Islamic government. It's an absolutist ideology that equates Islamism with justice and the lack of Islamism with injustice.

He included one of his pre-prison polemics in the book, a well written essay in response to the 9/11 attacks. I was so moved by what he wrote here, and wanted to tell everyone I knew to read it so that they would understand why so many people see hypocrisy in the actions of the U.S., and how these angry activists slant things to fuel their narrative of grievance.

We (the U.S.) made such grave mistakes by propping up totalitarian dictators in the name of winning the Cold War and I fear that we're committing the same mistake now in our “War on Terror” by focusing on tactics and strategy instead of putting human rights as a top priority and focusing on our narrative.

The grievances are still there, and until we come up with a narrative to address and solve those grievances, a counter-narrative to the propaganda of Islamism, so much of what we do to “fight terror” adds fuel to the recruiting power of the extremists.

When Maajid was only 24 years old he went to prison in Egypt, which at that time meant torture and a complete disregard for protocol (“This is Egypt, we do as we please.”). He was, at that time, a passionate extremist devoted to Islamism. The political side of the prison in Egypt was filled with the “Whos who” of politics from every side of the political spectrum. There were jihadists, the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, democracy advocates, liberal reformers...

So his four years in prison were essentially an education experience in diversity of opinion unlike anything he could have had on the outside. While there he memorized more than half of the Qur'an and read widely. His reading of Orwell's “Animal Farm” was life changing. He started to realize that if some of the people in prison were able to impose their Caliphate, the result would be disastrous.

The changing of a deeply held ideology is a difficult thing, and although his disillusionment with certain leaders was what sparked his journey to leaving extremism, it might not have ever come to fruition if he hadn't been chosen by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience (because he was jailed merely for his beliefs. He hadn't committed any crimes himself). This contradiction – to meet so many people campaigning for justice independent of Islam – helped him to uncouple the absolutist paradigm he'd absorbed in his youth.

He continued reading in prison, and discussing politics with the diverse group of political captives there, and came to the shattering conclusion that Islamism was “a political ideology dressed up as Islam... inspired by modern European constructs, [and] justified by seventh century norms.” “Islamism relied on Western concepts of justice to get off the ground... we Islamists were the bastard children of colonialism.” p 210 and 191

The change of heart -- a gradual and painful process -- was fascinating to see. And his former views give him a truly unique view on extremism and Islamism.

“We [meaning the Islamists] had become the real obstacle to progress for our own people... But... was it not the right of Muslims to adopt whatever ideology they chose? Of course, it was the right of Muslims to believe that one version of Islam must be imposed as law over their societies, just as it was the right of racists to believe that all non-white people should be deported from Europe. But the spread of either of those ideas would achieve nothing but division. If the dangers of racism are apparent, even in a nonviolent form, then it was the same for Islamism.” p 211

Since he has founded his think tank and devoted his time to speaking on the subject of extremism, he says there are two polar opposite sides that he most often comes in conflict with: “When we were critical of Islamism, the “Orientalists” got upset. When we raised the grievances in society that acted to fuel the Islamist narrative, the conservatives objected...” p 226

One last quote-- in a way I felt like this was the thesis of the book:

“Most Muslims [were] not Islamists; yet the organized minority [dominated] the discourse... Unless Muslim communities stood together to reclaim the faith, we would have no chance of challenging this ideology that had grown among us. It also meant that certain leftists and well-meaning liberals needed to stop pandering to a global totalitarian project...
There are those out there who harbor an irrational fear of Islam. Islamophobes and Islamists have this much in common: both groups insist that Islam is a totalitarian political ideology at odds with liberal democracy, and hence both insist that the two will inevitably clash. One extreme calls for the Qur'an to be banned, the other calls to ban everything but the Qur'an. Together, they form the negative and the positive of a bomb fuse.
A counter-narrative needed to be created out of these ideals: a respect for basic human rights, pluralism, individual freedoms, faith, and democracy has to be reconciled with Islam not in the ivory towers of academics but out there in the hearts of the masses. …
For decades, Islamists had spread their ideology at the grassroots, while Muslim liberals either detached themselves in their mansions or embroiled themselves in the corrupt politics of their regimes. … Was it any wonder then that Islamism had become the most effective social phenomenon among Muslims in the world, in dictatorships and democracies alike?” - p212

His call for action is a brave one, but like he said on page 219, he wasn't the first person to want to change the world. “Coming up with ideas, in a way, was the easy part. The difficult bit was how to take them forward.” I was thrilled to read concrete examples in the epilogue of his counter-narrative organization beginning to take root, and the positive change that has begun to happen as a result.

Thank you, Maajid.

[Season · Rating 4 out of 5]

**received as a giveaway on Goodreads**
(had no idea i started this on September 11th - thanks for keeping track Goodreads!)

Engrossing, I would recommend this book to everyone - a powerful reminder to look past events and movements to the people, the actual individauls, behind them.
Maajid details his path to extremeism (extremism, not terrorism) and how he came to the realization that "by defining ourselves Against something, we were in fact defining ourselves By it." (p.x) The West and Islam/Islamism seem to have a parallel relationship, projecting what they fear/dislike about themselves on "the other".
Through recounting his own story he illustrates how easy it is/can be for the disenfranchised and those dicriminated against to gravitate towards and become involved with ideas and movements that give them acceptance, empowerment or something else society at large will/has not given them; as a teen he was the victim of racism and discrimination.
Rising through the ranks (even while those who joined with him or got him involved start to question the ideas and movement they are fighting/recruiting for) it isn't until his arrest and jail time in Egypt that his is able to reexamine the group rhetoric and take a closer look at his own beliefs, Islam even the Quran itself.
He also gives brief histories and background information on not only his family's homeland of Pakistan, but also Islam, Islamism, Terrorism and the rise of extremist groups.
Once again I would recommend this book to everyone, i'm so glad i was picked to get a copy of this...thank you Goodreads, and most of all you, Mr. Nawaz, for going through this journey and coming out the other side. Thank you, so much.

"...there are more Muslims in China, Russia, India and Europe than there are in a number of Middle Eastern countries." (p. xii)
"Be not as strangers to the goodness and kindness of others." (p. 6)
"It was this feeling of being completely alone, rather than the pain that hurt the most....It was this incident more than anything that destroyed my childhood innocence." (p. 16)
"The fact that my skin color hadn't been an issue for those early years of schooling says everything about where racism originates: it is a cultural issue, a societal and familial problem that children soak up as they become more aware of the world." (p. 17)
"I remain cognizant - as brought out so starkly in William Golding's Lord of the Flies - that given the right circumstances most ordinary people are capable of descending to despicable depths." (p. 82)
"The thought process involved in leaving a group such as HT begins first at questioning an individual in authority, then the tactics, then the strategy, then the methodology, and then finally by questioning the ideology itself." (p. 102)
"How easy it is for a victem to construct a narrative out of half-truths and inspire thousands in the name of righteous indignation. But the other side only saw half the truth too, and that was the problem." (p. 114-115)
"These days i work to build an understanding of the mind-set that can make people so angry that they lose all empathy for others. I work to humanize even those who dehumanize others, so that the process of healing may begin." (p. 115)
"...only those with the luxury to speak could afford to be so defiant..." (p. 137)
"Just as the world is not a binary between Muslims against all others, it is also not a binary between Americ against all others." (p. 184)
"LIke many ideologies, Islamism derives part of its power from its dehumanization of "the other." It is easier ot dismiss and do things to "the other" if you consider them as unworthy: the Nazis and the Jews; the jihadist and the infidels. Throughout my teenage and young adult life, I had been dehumanized by others and desensitized to violence. As i got sucked into the Islamsit ideology, I in turn began to dehumanize others.
Amnesty's support challenged all that: instead of dehumanizing people, it rehumanized them." (p. 184)
"I explained to Omar that just because a government goes to war doesn't mean that everyone supports it." (p. 186)
"Human life for you is about political pointscoring? Then how is what you're fighting for any better than what you are fighting against." (p. 186)
"She dispised the madness of men who cared more about whether their position in prayer was correct than they did about spilling innocent blood." (p. 204)
"A counternarrative needed to be created out of these ideals: a respect for basic human rights, pluralism, individual freedoms, faith, and democracy had to be reconciled with Islam not in the ivory towers of academics but out there in the hearts of the masses." (p. 212)
"Islamism was in danger of making the situation worse, repeating the cycle of racism: Islamist extremism, more racism, and more Islamist extremism." (p. 218)
"Since time immemorial, kings, rulers, and generals have feared the power of an idea.
An idea can outlive a demigod, outpace armies, and putlast censorship. And something that's even leaner, swifter, and more potent than an idea is a narrative. If an idea is a belief, its narrative is the propaganda used to spread that belief. That narrative, the story used to 'sell' an idea, is the engine that gives an idea its power and influence. If an idea is nebulous, its narrative acts like a vortex, driving the idea forward. To control a narrative is to frame events and, ultimately, to shape history" (p. 254)

[Otto Lehto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A captivating story about a captivating ideology - and one man's journey of escaping it.

The democratic and liberal spirit that came to fruition in the Western revolutions of equality, liberty and fraternity, and managed to achieve a new kind of political order, is under threat. That order produced miracles for which we should be proud - not as Europeans, or as Muslims, but as people. It gave societies, for the first time, tools by which peaceful cooperation, across religious, ideological and ethnic lines, replaced the bitter competition of old, and in which freedom and equality were codified into the law as human rights. Through the power of the democratic and liberal spirit, society has tamed our atavism, and we have downplayed the instinct to dominate heretics and foreigners which, for the majority of human history, has been the dominant mode of expressing tribal identity. That revolution matters - not for this or that group, but for all of humanity. And for that revolution to succeed, it is not enough to pray for success. God or no God - it is up to us.

Maajid Nawaz is one of those people who are trying to do something about advancing human cooperation. His story, while real, is written unmistakably (and deliberately) like a screenplay for a movie. This is both a good thing and (maybe) a bad thing. Every scene is polished through authorial editing. Since all the camera angles and harrowing moments are carefully crafted by the auteur, the reader is left to wonder about the veracity of the dialogue, and the accuracy of some of the cute anecdotes. I fear that some amount of fudging must have taken place on the level of memories.

The book, after all, is also a marketing trick for the propaganda machine that is Maajid Nawaz, who is using the tricks of self-promotion that he learnt as an Islamist to "do God's work", today, in the different direction of secularism, working towards a tolerant kind of liberal Islam. His mission is noble, and it must be weaponized by slogans. Although the book is self-consciously building up a brand for himself and for his various organizations, it is not without its tints of humility and vulnerability - although always counterbalanced, in the story arc, through some redemptive moment that only serves to show how full of strength the author, the polished hero of the story, is.

That might sound awfully harsh, to say that the book is a tool of propaganda, and a manifesto for a revolution to come. But that doesn't make it a bad book. If anything, it gives it a certain Ian Fleming feel. It is a stylized script, and that's OK. Heroes are always somewhat larger than life.

Luckily there is also substance underneath the chiseled exterior. The book lewdly exposes, in a fresh way, and in a timely way, at least three (3) of the greatest threats to the stability of the liberal order: 1) the right-wing, populist resurgence of racialist and fascist ideology ("Ethnonationalism"), 2) the left-wing flirtation with exotic forms of fascism under the pretense of postmodern tolerance ("regressive leftism"), and 3) the religiously inspired medieval fascism of Islamic totalitarianism ("Islamism" and "Jihadism"). All these three forces must be defeated by moderates. Radicals, of ALL kinds, are a direct threat to the modern democratic experiment, which requires moderation.

While all three of these forces are ascendant, and all three must be defeated in the endgame of ideological struggle, Islamism is the least understood force in the West, due to ignorance and post-colonial cautiousness. This book exposes how Islamism and the other countervailing radicals all mutually enforce each other: the regressive left apologizes for radical fanatics while allowing racists to offer the only "defence league" against it. But to be against Islamism is not the same as being intolerant. As we tolerate Islamic intolerance, it screeches against democratic and pluralistic values like an ancient continental plate sliding against a newly formed land mass. If we do nothing, it will crash its full medieval inertia against the fragile order of modernity. Only a direct challenge can defeat it. This epic scene is the battleground of an ideological battle over the lordship of the Earth.

The greatest earthquake of them all is the earthquake of ideological collision, fired up by blind conviction on either side, as evinced by religiously justified fanatics. Radicals cannot be wished away.

At the heart of the political stage - encroached by liberals, conservatives and radicals alike - there lies the alluring iron throne, the central seat of power. That power better be won by the forces of anti-radicalism, not to be used against enemies, but to be enchained, so that our enemies cannot use it against us while our reign of power is over. The lesson of the book, i.e. the lesson that the author learnt through personal experience, which is also the lesson that other Islamists have to learn the hard way - just like European Christians and secularists had to learn through centuries of struggle - is that we need to enchain the mighty power of coercion, the political authority, in the constitutional framework of liberal tolerance which, alone, guarantees the peace of mankind.

[Cătălin Tămaș · Rating 4 out of 5]

O carte care merita citita pentru a înțelege mult mai bine straturile care creează islamul, islamismul și mișcările extremiste indiferent de culoarea lor și de tara de origine.

[Mike G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really important book. Maajid Nawaz discusses his transformation from racially abused teenager to radical Islamist, and from radical Islamist to a liberal Muslim reformer. It’s a very detailed and honest account that provides context to the extreme blurbs often encountered on global news channels. It’s fascinating, horrifying, uncomfortable, and eye opening. I couldn’t stop listening!

“no idea is above scrutiny, and no people are beneath dignity”

[Andy Thorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought-provoking, at times shocking autobiography detailing the author's journey into extremism and back from it. Published some five or six years ago, the book ends on an optimistic note with the appearance of lessons learnt or in the process of being learnt by governments and societies across the world. In the light of political events and trends in western democracies since 2012, the cynic in me feels that we may have taken a step or two back but I remain hopeful that with proper education, debate and thought, we can evolve into a global civilisation in which extremism in any direction, politically right, left or in respect of any religion or ideology becomes a thing of the past. I would urge you to read this book and try to keep an open mind, whatever your political perspective. I am by no means an expert on the themes of this book but having read it with an open mind and with as much empathy as possible, I feel I have a better understanding of the bigger picture.