Amazing insight to Islamism - Rated 
I picked the book up on Friday and had finished it by Monday and loved it. I knew very little about Islam and why people became fanatic and so reading this book was a fabulous insight into the world of fanatics.
From the start we can see how the author was alone in school and the only people who would talk to him were the people who bring him into the radical side. The book then gets very in deph into the Islamist world and why they believe what they do. Once the author leaves that world we see how he realises that all the things he had believed were all lies and the people who preached to them were telling them lies.
What is also worrying about this book is that a book about radical islam that the author read as a child was still on sell in mosques after 9/11 and 7/7. Also when he goes to the middle east to learn arabic he finds so many people against the west and a lot of them wanted to move to Britain to attack Britain.
However even though they were many people that were radical and against the west there were plenty of muslems that loved the country and hated the radical side. I loved this book and enjoyed learning more about Islam. Fantastic read and worth buying.
Comprehensive and readable account of mainstream extremism - Rated
For one that is very interested in the rise of Islam in the UK, this is the best educational book that there is. It is also very readable. I, did not understand the difference between the Islamic faith and the "Islamist" movement before I read this book. What troubles me, is that I do not feel that the government in the UK has much idea of what to do with this. I can only hope that they will read this book. This problem will not "go away". One thing that I would say about Mr Hussain, is that for all his insight and knowledge, and the huge achievement in writing this book, he is terribly egocentric and rather obsessed with his own importance. I suppose that this character trait would be why he was an Islamist to begin with?
Husain-Dog, yo spack mo speech - Rated
Husain-Dog, yo spack it nice, like tha cream-king yo are. International relations, innit. Yo put it down real fine. Word atter word, it maks good sense what yo linguistify. Know fo' sure, yo message taken to heart Husain-Dog.
Ex Shia - Rated 
As an ex Shia I enjoyed many of the arguments that Ed presented in his book and it helped in my journey back towards more orthodox beliefs, namely, those of Ahl Sunnah.
I just regret the years of moving around groups and ideologies and hope that writings like this could have been available sooner.
With Salams
Pertinent exposé written for the culturally aware - Rated 
Eye-opening, honest and intense. I read 'The Islamist' back when it was first released, curious yet naive to the true picture of radical Islam in the West. As with any religion, there are followers who have their faith exploited and distorted. 'The Islamist' is a fascinating account of one man's membership to an extreme organisation, as he fell victim to a way of life that terrifies those on the outside.
Although I read this memoir to fuel my interest in current affairs, the main reason I picked it up is because I wanted to grasp the underlying differences between the beliefs of traditional muslims and those of Islamic extremists. It truely opened my eyes to a culture that I had only been exposed to through the media. Reading books on the subject written in third person are great for gaining an overall, more academic understanding, but Ed Hussain here offers a much greater insight into how and why these groups behave.
Terrorism is a subject on everyone's lips, which is why Hussain's story is so important. Personally however, I believe everone should read this book to eliminate the prejudice that is experienced by so many British Muslims. It is a terrible shame that in the 21st century, it is wrongly assumed by many that those who believe in the same God and dress the same follow the same way of life.
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