The final sentence of this book is: "The future of Islam is being shaped now." The Islamist (published 2007) is an autobiographical portrait of a young man's journey from being a rejectionist to a patriotic British citizen. Along the way Ed Husain learns about the hypocrisy of fundamentalists "who enjoy British life while calling for its destruction." He says there is a silent majority of Muslims who do not seek to turn religion into politics, but nevertheless, "religious sermons are still being delivered by political activists in British universities." The story of Ed Husain's life as a fundamentalist , an "Islamist" , centers on his days as a student and member of university groups affiliated with such controversial organizations as Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
By the time he leaves radicalism behind, gets married, and looks back at his earlier understandings of politics and world events , he unfortunately still has the negative impression that "the radicalization of yet another generation of young Muslims continues unabated." We also follow him to Saudi Arabia and Syria, where he realizes just how "British" he really is. He writes about his realization that "Islamism, with its heavy emphasis on religious identity, dehumanizes others." This was connected apparently to his students' desires in Saudi Arabia to become suicide bombers or admiring jihadis leaving for Iraq in 2003. He asks rhetorically about why Wahhabism is so successful and discusses how racism and destruction of the Muslim heritage is widespread in Saudi Arabia. In some of his strongest language, Ed Husain writes that "The Islamic state is a cherished myth, sold to naïve Muslims by conniving Islamists." For this reason, extremists continue to argue that neither Saudi Arabia nor Iran are actually Islamic states. Indeed, the only good Islamic state was the Taliban's Afghanistan.
In a rather strange way, though, the author asks another rhetorical question: "Why did we not learn from the fact that, despite Islamist prayers for destruction over five decades, Israel was still in place and America remained supreme? Was God not telling us something in rejecting Islamist-Wahhabi prayers of cataclysm?" This question may have been merely symbolic but it could also mean that if there are blows to the West, the extremists could then argue they have found favor with God. With respect to religion and politics, Husain writes that "Islam, one of the world's greatest religions, has been hijacked by Arab anger expressed in Islamist political terms." In fact, one of the merits of this book, is that it portrays vividly for the reader the characteristics of an Islamist. More specifically, it paints the picture that Islamists in Britain are coming out (only via the comforts of British freedoms) "with radical, utopian slogans as one government, one ever-expanding country, for one Muslim nation." But he also says that Islam for Islamists is "political, domineering, and soulless." Spirituality is lost in favor of a confrontational worldview.
There was one particularly bizarre comment that Husain makes about the time when he joined the Islamic Society of Britain. He said that at one point his good friend was concerned about his "reluctance to commit fully to the ISB" and took him to meet the Egyptian leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Kemal Halbawi. At this point, he writes that Halbawi was saying extra prayers for Ramadan and holding a string of prayer beads. He then says, "I was taken aback. Only Christians used prayer beads, or so we had been taught." This comment is so unusual that I cannot find any explanation for how a so-called Islamist had never seen a tasbi (beads for Muslim prayer and meditation). It is simply impossible that this far into his journey of becoming an Islamist he never saw anyone use prayer beads. This simple comment unfortunately makes me call into question the legitimacy of the entire book. Whatever that odd comment about the prayer beads was supposed to mean, Ed (Mohammed) Husain wrote this book to highlight the journey that young Muslims take in trying to be "better" Muslims. Sometimes, however, they get brought into political movements instead , hoping for clarity and perspective on the world's problems. In the end, he rediscovers spiritual Islam.
A good critical review of this book can be found on the website of the Muslim Council of Britain.
