The Islamist

In a remarkably frank and compelling memoir, Ed Husain analyses the appeal of political Islam to young Muslims in Britain. The Islamist is an insider's account of why young Muslims gravitate towards Islamism: how they are recruited, how they act once inside, and what links these groups have to the Middle East and the wider Muslim world. He tells of his encounters with leading Islamists, including the now self-exiled Syrian cleric, Omar Bakri, and Britain's first suicide bomber, Asif Hanif. He explores the links between his own extremism and the beliefs of less extreme Islamists such as Sir Iqbal Sacranie and the Muslim Council of Britain. And he tells of his family's heartbreak over his decision to join a radical group, and their joy when he made the difficult decision to leave Islamism behind forever.

For almost five years during the 1990s, Ed Husain was active in three major Islamist organizations in London, including Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a group banned in many countries around the world and currently under threat of being banned in Britain. After a period of intense personal turmoil, Ed left the group. This is the first time he has spoken about his experiences.

More information, reviews and reactions to
THE ISLAMIST by Ed Husain

Newspaper coverage:

Tom Boncza-Tomaszewski, The Independent on Sunday, 13 May 2007: review

Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian, 12 May 2007: feature

Mary Wakefield, The Daily Telegraph, 12 May 2007: review
[link to follow]

Claire Allfree, Metro London, 9 May 2007: review

'Confessions of a former fanatic': a review of Ed Husain's THE ISLAMIST by Simon Jenkins (The Sunday Times, 29 April 2007)

'They see it here, they see it there, they see Al-Qaeda everywhere': a lead op ed article by Simon Jenkins dealing with THE ISLAMIST (The Sunday Times, 29 April 2007)

'How a British jihadi saw the light': An extract from THE ISLAMIST (The Sunday Times, 22 April 2007) http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk

'Rediscovering a kinder, gentler Islam': an interview with Ed Husain by John Paul Flintoff (The Sunday Times, 22 April 2007)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1685725.ece

'I know how these terrorists are inspired': an article by Ed Husain in the Comment section of The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday 2 May 2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

There is also a link to an audio interview with Ed by Robert Miller of The Telegraph at
http://www.mediaplayer.telegraph.co.uk/?item=0155C570-E069-42EE-89BD-528012BFACB2

'When will we British learn to stop appeasing terror?': a column by Melanie Phillips, praising Ed Husain for making public his experience of Islamism (The Daily Mail, 1 May 2007)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Magazine coverage:

Yahya Birt, The New Statesman, 14 May 2007: review

Blog version: 6 May 2007

'I went up and down Brick Lane, calling for jihad': an article in which Ed Husain takes Rebecca Taylor on a tour of the East End that he grew up in, and which takes centre stage in THE ISLAMIST (Time Out London, 1 May 2007)

radio coverage:

Radio interview and questions from the public worldwide on 'World Have Your Say' on the BBC World Service, Thursday 26 April 2007

Radio interview with John Humphrys of the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 at 08:22 on Saturday 28 April 2007 

Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2, ‘The Jeremy Vine Show’, 8 May 2007: 15 minute interview

Edmond Roy, ABC National Radio (Australia), ‘The World Today’, 7 May 2007: 5 minute interview

Nikki Bedi, BBC Asian Network, ‘The Nikki Bedi Show’, 3 May 2007: 15 minute interview

Eddie Mair, BBC Radio 4, ‘PM’, 1 May 2007: interview

John Humphreys, BBC Radio 4, ‘Today’, 28 April 2007: 5 minute interview

BBC World Service, ‘World Have Your Say’, 26 April 2007: extended interview with Ed and questions from the public worldwide

Gabriel Gbadamosi, BBC Radio 3, cultural magazine show ‘Night Waves’: extended interview

tv coverage:

Siddhartha Dubey, Reuters TV, 8 May 2007: 6 minute interview

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, 3 May 2007: 6 minute interview

ITV, ‘ITV News’ (at 6:30 and 10:30), 1 May 2007: interview

Huw Edwards, BBC News 24, 30 April 2007: interview

web coverage:

'Another brave Muslim speaks up': a blog post by Melanie Phillips (24 April 2007)

Luke Baker, Reuters Online, 3 May 2007: article

OTHER LINKS

http://www.islamdaily.net/EN/Contents.aspx?AID=282
http://thingsarebetternow.blogspot.com/2007/04/ed-husain-islamist.html
http://community.channel4.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/503603557/m/1260008287
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/23/60minutes/main2602308.shtml
http://www.socialcohesion.co.uk/blog/2007/04/the_house_of_the_uprising_sunn.html
http://www.unitedjerusalem.org/index2.asp?id=906424
http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm?blog_id=7294
http://www.unitedcopts.org/
http://www.healthypages.net/forum/tm.asp?m=441867
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com
http://covenantzone.blogspot.com/2007/04/political-islam-is-for-boys.html
http://gypsyscholarship.blogspot.com/