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.

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

I just couldn't focus well enough to read Radical over the holiday weekend.  I needed to pick a lighter read and a good story.  Melissa recommended I read The Vacationers and I am so glad she did!  It was a good story -- not great literature, but well written and easy to read off and on.  

The novel is about a family who takes a vacation at the home of a friend in Mallorca.  It examines the delicate balance of sibling rivalries and marital infidelity while gently guiding the reader to the age-old wisdom of "time heals".  But the characters were multidimensional and  interesting.  Their motivations seemed plausible.  All in all -- I'd recommend this book to anyone...especially to take along while vacationing!!!

Now that I'm home -- it's time to dive back into Radical!

Elvis Has Not Left the Building

This train had a very slow start for me. I'm now a quarter of the way through and am realizing why I have waited twenty years to read Guralnick's bio. Now, I have the Internet to feed my music interest as I read about the phenom, Elvis Presley. I have been able to view Elvis's earliest influences and become fascinated with the Statesmen and the Starlite Wranglers to Big Mama Thornton's version of Hound Dog. Although I first became aware of Elvis with his recording of "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956, I've learned that he became a literal overnight sensation in Memphis with his Sun recording of "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "That's All Right Mama." Guralnick is a music critic and has written extensively on American music and musicians. His research is beyond the pale, often to the point of boredom. But I don't want to miss the redeeming qualities, of which there are many. Since I've made it to page 127, it looks like I'm on my way. 

Wonderful Quote!

"We all need more than anything else to know human nature, to know the needs of the human soul; and they will find this nature and these needs set forth as nowhere else by the great imaginative writers, whether of prose or of poetry."

~Theodore Roosevelt~

The Girl with a Clock for a Heart: A Novel

It's no secret that I think mystery/thrillers are great summer reads -- and certainly good diversions from more serious reading.  This one is a page turner!  It's a good psychological thriller -- if you like Tana French or Gillian Flynn, you might give Peter Swanson a try!

On the surface this is just another book about an evil woman who seduces the men in her life who aren't strong enough to shake the addiction.  I won't say that I was kept guessing until the final page -- but the characters were interesting enough to hold my attention.  And the story has lots of twists and turns. Having said that -- I have to admit I found the ending to be unsatisfying -- not too terribly disappointing, but just not one of those books I'll think about for very long. 
             Even so -- it met my criteria of: "Must entertain me on every page."  


Time to get back to my list: I'm half way through Radical and am determined to finish it by the end of the weekend!!! 

omigosh -- I love this idea! I'm going to "raise my reading standards" !!!

To Read or Not to Read

I think this is such a great idea -- I'm going to "raise my reading standards"!!!  This should help me breeze through my TBR list :-)  Since it seems I already am willing to abandon books, adopting a set of rules for myself to follow with regard to choosing and abandoning books should be a simple process...and help keep the nagging guilt at bay.

So here's my personal criteria for continuing to read a book:
It has to grab me within the first 25 pages!  Life is too short to spend precious minutes slogging through a book with the hopes it will improve.  

(The only exception I found was The Goldfinch -- 

that book wore me out by 1/4 of the way through it...

but I was too curious about why it received such high praise.  

I didn't really begin to enjoy the book until 

the final chapter, when all the pieces fell together.  

Yet, if I had to do that one over again -- 

I'd choose to abandon it.)

So how does a book "grab me"????    

* If it's fiction, it must surprise me with almost every turn of the page -- predictable books are OUT.

* It must move me with its beautiful sentences -- both fiction and nonfiction.  There is nothing better than having a sentence take my breath away -- stopping to read and reread it, and marveling at the author's use of word choice and sentence structure -- ahhhhhh -- the joy of lovely language!

* The characters must be interesting and complex -- and I have to care about them.

* In fiction, it's got to have a complex plot -- multiple layers with lots to chew on!!

*In non-fiction, the author needs to convince me from the get-go that he is an expert on the subject -- I might not agree with him -- but I must respect him!!! (or her)  

*whether fiction or nonfiction, the book must somehow enrich my life.  If I'm going to spend time with the author's imagination and ideas, I want my own thinking to be challenged and enlightened.

*and finally, I insist that I am thoroughly entertained on every page.

Pretty tough criteria!!!!  But my time is precious -- and I have many books to read before I sleep!!

Radical: My Journey Out of Islamist Extremism (Post #2 of 3)

I've only read through about half of this book.  I'm finding it to be a fascinating, but difficult read.  I'm very conflicted about my sympathies for the author.  This is a man who as a youth felt displaced in his own hometown.  He had enjoyed a pleasant childhood as a Pakistani in South End, London.  But upon entering adolescence he found himself the target of many of his childhood friends -- mostly white -- who seemed to turn against him because of the color of his skin.  

Because of this ostracism he states, "there was a real vacuum in my identity, which was the ideal place for someone to be before recruitment to an Islamist organization."   He found home among a powerful group of Islamist Extremists when he entered college.  His parents misunderstood his behavior -- happy to see him appear more comfortable with his Muslim faith, being unaware of his extremist ideas and activities.  

He distinguishes between that faith and extremist activity by stating: "it isn't a religious movement with political consequences, it is a political movement with religious consequences."  It's clear that the group he was involved with did not promote religion, did not teach their recruits aspects of prayer and devotion.  Rather, their meetings and instruction were focused entirely on cultural issues -- specifically how to fight back against liberal western ideas they perceived were harming the traditional Islamic way of life.  

What I find most disturbing is the presence of profound hatred based on nothing other than differing lifestyles.  It is hatred based on ignorance and fear of "the other".  And it's certainly not unique to Islamic extremists and Americans.  Why do we humans fear others to the point where such hatred flourishes?  

I'm going to keep reading -- but I'm taking it slowly -- interspersing it with lighter reads to keep me from becoming too downhearted.