The Islamist

The Islamist

The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left, is a book about Ed Husain's (full name Mohammed Mahbub Hussain) five years as an Islamic fundamentalist. Husain became an Islamist at the age of sixteen, but rejected fundamentalist teaching and returned to normal life and his family. Husain describes his book as explaining "the appeal of extremist thought, how fanatics penetrate Muslim communities and the truth behind their agenda of subverting the West and moderate Islam." The book has been described as "as much a memoir of personal struggle and inner growth as it is a report on a new type of extremism." It was published in May 2007.