Radical: My Journey Out of Islamist Extremism by Maajid Nawaz (#3 of 3 posts)

Whew!  I finally finished this book.  Well -- admittedly, I skimmed quickly through the final 1/4 of the book.  Nawaz bogged down his writing with too many details.  Normally I enjoy details that enhance the meaning -- but I felt distracted and anxious slogging through them in this book.  

Having said that -- while I can't say I savored the writing, I was intrigued by the story.

Nawaz found himself deeply involved in an Islamic Extremist group known as Hizb al-Tahrir (he refers to as HT throughout the book).  He zealously embraced their mission to overthrow Western influence and political control of Muslim countries until he was imprisoned and tortured in an Egyptian prison for his activities against the government. His role in HT mainly involved recruiting other HT members.  He claims he had no part in violent activities. 

When he was released from prison as a result of advocacy from Amnesty International, he began to reevaluate his commitment to the Islamist cause.  He realized that what happened to him was he had learned to dehumanize "others" through the teachings of the leaders of HT and so felt the goals of HT were justifiable.  But with the kindness and perseverance of Amnesty International leaders and members, he gradually rejected that perspective and grew to embrace the humanity of his "enemies".  By doing so he began to appreciate the differences in cultures -- and no longer felt threatened by those differences.  

The take away from this book can be summed up by a quote early on: "Hatred of 'the other' thrives on myths and stereotypes."  Nawaz has declared his current mission is to dispel the myths and stereotypes that are causing both Islamists and Westerners to fear each other.   I'm reminded of Rodney King's famous plea ~ "Can we all get along?"  But as long as dehumanizing of "the other" continues through lies, myths, and stereotypes, I fear we never will.  Maybe the first step is to stop and listen to the stories of people like Maajid Nawaz.