Radical: My Journey Out of Islamist Extremism - Maajid Nawaz

⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

This is a memoir about how Maajid Nawaz went from being a son of Pakistani immigrants in London, to a b-boy on the streets, to an Islamist in jail in Egypt, and finally to someone fighting for human rights and reform. It's a pretty wild ride, and obviously very far from anything in my own experience.

I really liked the way he described how experiencing racism in London led to him embracing radical Islamist ideals, and why kids like him are ripe for the picking. It's a very informative book, and I think one of the most important thing I learned was the distinction between Islam, the religion, and Islamism, the political ideology. Maajid himself is not always very likeable, but it was valuable getting a first-hand account of someone who fell into radicalism and how/why he got out.