The Islamist, by Ed Husain

I read this book having thought a long time ago "that sounds interesting", and it was. What strikes me is how modern the roots of Islamic extremism are compared to traditional Islam as practised for hundreds of years in many different cultures.

The book is essentially a circular, growing-up narrative of rejections and turning-aways, first from traditional Islam, then from modern fundamentalism, following the murder of a student; and then a turning back to traditional Islam again.

Husain now works at the CFR in New York on Middle-Eastern studies.